The Aurora University men's hockey team aimed for a victory as they returned to Fox Valley Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon, following a challenging defeat on Friday night. 
AU secured a 5-4 victory against St. Norbert College, with ten different Spartans recording points, including two players with multiple points. This win snapped the Spartans four-game winless streak.


FINAL SCORE: Aurora University 5, #RV St. Norbert College 4
LOCATION: Fox Valley Ice Arena - Geneva, Illinois
RECORDS: Aurora University 8-8-1 overall and 7-3 NCHA, St. Norbert College 10-5 overall and 8-2 NCHA


- St. Norbert got on the board first with a short-handed goal four minutes into the first period.
- The Spartan's top line started the scoring, with forward Spencer DenBeste securing the equalizer, marking his second goal of the year seven minutes into the period. Matt Weber and Jacob Brockman recorded the assists. 
- AU grabbed the momentum, taking control of the final minutes of the first period. Chase Broda made a break from the defense, setting up senior Derrick Budz, who netted his fourth goal of the year, getting the Spartans to a 2-1 lead.
- After 20 minutes of play, AU led 2-1.
- SNC quickly knotted the game 2-2 just 57 seconds into the middle frame, but Jackson Kirk answered back by finishing off a feed from Juliano Santalucia and Chayce Schmidt to restore the advantage,3-2. 
- The back and forth action continued in the final 10 minutes of the period. SNC made it a 3-3 contest with 9:58 remaining. 
- It didn't take long for AU to jump back in front when Jackson Kirk unleashed a shot from a pass by Lukas Sedlacek and Chayce Schmidt, finding the upper left corner for his second tally of the game. This propelled the Spartans back into a 4-3 lead with 8:52 left on the clock.
- After running into penalty trouble to start the third, Spartan Connor Smith scored just 31 seconds into the period. Smith broke away from the defense and sniped a beautiful shot over the goaltender, extending AU's lead to 5-3.
- With four minutes remaining, SNC struck once again, narrowing the deficit to just one.
- Goaltender Matt O'Donnell and his defensive teammates battled in the final minutes to clinch the 5-4 victory. 
- Matt O'Donnell finished with 39 saves on 43 shots on goal to record his third victory of the year.


Points: Jakson Kirk and Chayce Schmidt (2)
Goals: Jakson Kirk (2), Spencer DenBeste, Derrick Budz, and Connor Smith (1)
Assists: Chayce Schmidt (2), Jacob Brockman, Matt Weber, Juliano Santalucia, Lukas Sedlacek, and Chase Broda (1)
Saves: Matt O'Donnell (39)
 

Next action for the Spartan men's hockey team comes on Friday, January 19 when they travel to Trine University. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 pm (est) / 6:00 pm (cst) in Angola, Indiana.