One night after wasting a three-goal lead in the third period against Findlay, Union discovered a killer instinct Saturday.
After spotting the Oilers a first-period goal, the Dutchmen scored the next nine and cruised to a 9-2 nonconference win at Achilles Rink.
In extending their unbeaten streak to three games (2-0-1), the Dutchmen (9-7-4) scored three goals in the first period, two in the second and four in the third.
It was a far cry from Friday’s effort. Union took a 4-1 lead into the third period. But Findlay (8-12-2) took advantage of sloppy defensive play by the Dutchmen to score three times and earn a 4-4 tie.
“I thought we were going to be able to do that last night a little bit, play solid for 60 minutes and not have to worry too much,” Union coach Kevin Sneddon said. “Tonight, the guys had some fun out there. They were able to execute.”
Forwards Kris Goodjohn and Marc Neron sparked the Union offense with two goals and two assists each. Defenseman Randy Dagenais and forward Nathan Gillies added a goal and two assists apiece.
“Last night, we were a bit embarrassed,” Neron said. “We came into tonight’s game that we play 60 minutes of hockey, never give up, take it to them and make sure they don’t want to come back to our building.”
Andy Croak gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 9:25 of the first period. But the advantage lasted just 26 seconds. Freshman Niklas Mattsson tied it for Union when he put in the rebound of a Jeff Wilson shot for his first collegiate goal.
Wilson snapped the tie at 11:28 when his shot from the top of the slot deflected off a Findlay skate and past goalie Kevin Fines. A turnover by Fines was converted into a goal by Gillies with 2:09 left in the first.
Jamie VanDeSpyker replaced Fines at the start of the second period. VanDeSpyker, who made 40 saves in Friday’s game, didn’t fare as well. Neron and Matt Vagvolgyi scored in the second to give the Dutchmen a four-goal lead.
Neron scored his second goal of the game, a power-play tally, 52 seconds into the third period. Dagenais made it 7-1 at 10:34 with an even-strength goal. Goodjohn finished off the carnage with power-play goals at 11:21 and 17:43.
“With the team we have in our locker room, we should be able to come out and score nine goals now and then,” Goodjohn said. “It was fun to do tonight.”
Ken Schott covers college hockey for The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, N.Y.
