The Eagles get out early to a 3-0 lead just 4:56 in, and remain in control the entire game and complete the four game season sweep of Kent State with a 8-2 victory at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

Ann Arbor, Michigan- If there was a single team in the CSCHL and the ACHA that could use a game in which they were able to control the action from the start all the way to the end, that team would be the 2005 Eastern Michigan Eagles. Eastern Michigan completed the four game season series sweep with a 8-2 victory Saturday Afternoon lead by Jeff Jepson's hat trick at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

The first period was your traditional Kent State-EMU period of ice hockey, a period marred with tons of penalties and very little 5 on 5 hockey. The Eagles jumped out to 1-0 lead just 2:34 into the game on a goal from Ryan Connolly[Opyd, Jepson]. The first goal of the contest was something that was very, very comforting to see from the Eagles as they executed a 3 on 2 opportunity with picture perfect passing and a great shot to score. The Eagles followed this goal up a minute later on the Power Play with again another brilliantly set play, this time scored by Jeff Jepson his first of three in the game[Olgren, Koester]. The Eagles pushed the lead to 3, at the 15:04 mark on a goal from Josh Cabanss[Opyd]. The Eagles pushed the lead to 4, on Jepson's second goal of the game[Koester]. Basically, if you think of the traditional cherry-picking based play where you have one guy floating around at center ice waiting for the puck to be fought out of his own zone, and it leads to an open breakaway, you've got how Jepson scored his second goal of the contest. Kent State however, on the power play with 8:16 left got one back on a goal from Nick Robillard[Brett Kendig.] The period ended with the score at 4-1. The first period was also not a good period for the two starting goalenders. Kent State goaltender Kyle Nova was pulled after the first three goals in the contest, and EMU's senior goaltender Tom Gresham was injured with as reported by Eastern's Official Hockey site as a badly bruised leg after being hit by a puck above the pads. The Swoop Zone personally wants to wish Gresham a quick and healthy recovery from this unfortunate injury.

The second period was a more hard fought period of hockey with much fewer penalties. However, as the crowd will all agree with, the game became more choppy as there wasn't a ton of flow as it was consistently stopped and started and stopped and started. However, despite the fewer penalties, the Eagles took advantage of the opportunities they were given when Kent State would commit their penalties.  The Eagles pushed the lead back up to 4 goals at the 12:15 mark on a power play goal from Charlie Jones, which was set up by a really nice pass from AJ Jensen. The power play did it again for the Eagles just a minute later on another couple of nice passes, and Kelly Koester got his first of two goals in the contest[Jepson, Opyd]. Kent State however dominated the last two minutes of the period and did get rewarded with their second goal of the contest on a goal from defenseman Jon Moser, with an assist to Kendig. The period ended with the Eagles ahead 6-1. 

The third period was a back and forth one, but it was one that  you knew the Eagles never had any doubt about. The seventh goal of the contest for the Eagles was Kelly Koester's second goal of the contest which was set up by a wonderful pass from behind the net. Assists on the seventh goal were rewarded to Charlie Jones and Steve Kardel. The Eagles appropriately 9 minutes into the game, or at the 11:00 mark exactly saw #11 Jeff Jepson score the hat trick goal with an assist from Ryan Connolly. Despite the fact that the Eagles were somehow outshot in the period by Kent State 13-9, the Eagles cruised to finish off their 8-2 victory. However, also another EMU player was injured during the period. Freshman Ryan Connolly was examined after being on the receiving end of a vicious check by three Kent State players. The Swoop Zone also wants to wish Connolly a healthy and quick recovery.

In the world of sports there are always those matchups where one team just seems to have another's number. For example, Notre Dame football always beats Navy, 24 straight games I believe it has been. For the Eagles, Kent State just seems to be their Navy. Kent State played very hard in this game, and has a big team that looks like they could be a bit of a menace if they can control their one Achilles heel in discipline. It's definitely not effort. 

The Swoop Zone must also recognize one very key player in this game. With Tom Gresham getting hurt, the goaltender duties on this afternoon were put into the hands of Junior Brian Markowicz, who honestly did an outstanding job in net. He made some very important saves in the game and to come off the bench cold as he had to is no easy task for any player, regardless of the sport. Markowicz deserves a lot of credit for how well he played in the net.

The Eagles on this night really showed a lot of improvement out there on the ice. Defensively they were defending the net, blocking a ton of shots from Kent State, offensively they were playing solid team hockey passing the puck well, and they took advantage of several opportunities on the power play, scoring 3 power play goals on the night. The Eagles took control of the game in the first five minutes and never relinquished it. It might be true that the 8-7 game against the Fighting Illini might have helped renew some confidence into this club, and they looked like a team on a mission tonight. In fairness, I do understand that it was Kent State, a team that the Eagles have traditionally dominated, but the games against the Flashes are traditionally closer than this. They just took it to the Flashes tonight.

Of course it didn't hurt that Jeff Jepson had another five point night, and Kelly Koester added 4 points to the cause. It was a solid effort, and it was refreshing to see. 

Looking Ahead:

The Eagles now look to keep the winning spirit alive with a pair of games against the Billikens of Saint Louis University. Both games are at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, with the game Friday Night starting at 7:30 PM with Saturday's game being another afternoon tilt at 4:30 PM. So therefore after the Michigan-Ohio State game, come on out to the Ann Arbor Ice Cube and cheer on the Eagles en route to trying to win 4 games in a row heading into a very interesting, and important three game Thankgiving Tourney in Dearborn.

Good Luck To The Eagles, and Let's Go Green!
-Kevin