Hat Tricks Highlight Weekend

By Adrian Nida

The Saginaw Valley Club Hockey team swept the weekend with wins over Jackson Community College on Friday and Delta College on Saturday. The sweep brought them up to 10 consecutive wins, a record for the team. Their overall record stands at 15-2-0-1. 

The Cardinals opened Friday night’s game against Jackson with a 1-0 lead after the first period.  The goal was scored on a power play by junior forward Jon Tibaudo, who went on to get a hat trick and his 103rd career goal.

After a slow start in the first, the Cardinals gained an 8-0 lead during the second period, towering over the Generals. Saginaw’s second goal was scored by senior forward Jake Trombley, his first of two goals that night. Freshman defenseman Steve Pelky scored Saginaw’s third, fifth and final goal of the game, notching a hat trick as well.

Jackson was able to slip the puck past the Cardinals’ freshman goalie Jake Chaillier at 5:09 of the third period, leaving the score at 8-1. 

Hat tricks were in the stats for the Cardinals once again on Saturday night as freshman forward Ben Welch scored three of Saginaw’s four goals against Delta. Welch slipped his first past Delta’s goalie on a power play at 12:07, assisted by Tibaudo and Pelky. The Pioneers came back at 17:54 in the first, tying the score 1-1. 

Saginaw senior defenseman Brian Jensen was sent to the box at 3:27 in the second, allowing Delta a power-play goal and the lead. The Pioneers held on through the rest of the second period, closing it with a 2-1 lead.

Assistant Captain Brian Jensen explained the team’s struggle during the first two periods. 

“We were playing on new lines,” he said. “We didn’t get to practice on them so we didn’t get a gel going. They were switched back so the third went well; we got a lot more production.”

At the start of the third period, the Cardinals’ line changes showed. Assisted by senior forward Matt Fogal and junior defenseman Chris McGuire, Welch scored his second goal of the game, knotting the score at 2. The Cardinals went on to take the lead with Welch’s third goal at 5:15 on a power play assisted by Pelky. 

Delta answered back when a tripping penalty on Saginaw freshman forward Tim Tibaudo allowed the Pioneers a power play goal to tie the score 3-3. The Pioneers were then sent to the box and the Cardinals were able to break the tie on a power play. Jensen scored the game-winning goal with assists by Tim Tibaudo and senior forward Nate Engstrom, locking their 4-3 win.

“I couldn’t have done it without Tim,” Jensen explained. “He made the play happen. He grinded the puck and worked it out to Nate. Nate shot and I ran where the rebound was going.

“To have a 10-game win streak feels real good,” Jensen said. “And Delta’s number six in the nation so it was good to win at their house.”