Hockey

MEQUON, Wis. — Blake Roubos scored twice and Renato Engler piled up three points to lead the Lawrence University hockey team to a 4-2 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Concordia University of Wisconsin on Saturday at the Ozaukee Ice Center.

Lawrence (2-0-0, 2-0-0 NCHA) completed a sweep of the Falcons (0-2-0, 0-2-0) in the season-opening series.

Roubos scored the game’s first goals in span of 3:36 in the opening period to give Lawrence the lead. Roubos scored at the 10:09 mark off assists from Engler and Jake Kruetzer for a 1-0 lead. He then added a power-play goal at 13:45 off a pass from Engler for a 2-0 advantage.

The Falcons cut the margin in half on Chris Hughes’ goal at the 14:34 mark and Lawrence led 2-1 after the opening period.

Matt Moore scored 4:31 into the second period, and the score stayed 3-1 until Engler scored just 1:45 into the third period. The Falcons scored with 1:42 remaining for the final margin.

Mattias Soderqvist stopped 44 shots to pick up the win for Lawrence. Dylan Frank made 33 saves for Concordia.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team scored the game’s final four goals on Friday night to pull away for a 6-2 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Concordia University of Wisconsin at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

Mattias Soderqvist stopped 40 shots for Lawrence (1-0-0, 1-0-0 NCHA) and didn’t allow a goal for the final 44:07 of the contest.

Renato Engler had a goal and three assists for Lawrence, and Blake Roubos picked up a goal and two assists for the Vikings.

Concordia (0-1-0, 0-1-0) led 1-0 when freshman Matt Montemurro scored his first career goal for Lawrence, a power-play tally, to tie the game at 1-1 at the 13:12 mark of the first. Roubos scored less than a minute later at 14:09 to give the Vikings a 2-1 edge.

Cody Dixon then tied it at 2-2 when he scored for the Falcons at the 15:53 mark of the first.

Lawrence then got two goals in a span of six seconds to take command in the second. Engler swiped the puck and scored unassisted at the 4:02 mak of the second to put Lawrence up 3-0. The Vikings won the ensuing faceoff and Matt Moore scored at 4:08 for a 4-2 edge.

Lawrence sealed the win when freshman Jake Kreutzer scored on the power play at 10:47 of the third to give the Vikings a 5-2 advantage. Brandon Boelter added a goal with just 1:21 left to close out the scoring.

Lawrence went 2-for-6 on the power play, and Concordia was 1-for-4.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team wants to leave the 2013-14 season right where it is — in the past.

Lawrence struggled to a 6-19-2 record a season ago, but the Vikings return a young and talented team for the upcoming campaign. The Vikings open their Northern Collegiate Hockey Association season on Friday night when they host Concordia (Wis.) University at the Appleton Family Ice Center.

“We certainly need to learn from our past experiences, both good and bad,” said Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski, entering his ninth season as head coach. “However, each year is a completely different group and a new opportunity. We are focused on getting the best out of this year’s group.”

The Vikings have hung their hat on toughness and defense throughout Szkodzinski’s tenure, but Lawrence allowed 4.1 goals per game last season.

“We have added some depth to our corps of defensemen, bringing in 4 new faces who we feel can contribute from day one to go along with five returners,” Szkodzinski said.

The leader of the defense is junior captain Brandon Boelter, who had one goal and 14 assists a season ago. The Vikings also have seasoned veterans like Kevin Killian, Phil Luongo and Steve Hughes back on defense. Newcomers like Austin Frank, Brad Mueller and Brendan Vetter bring size and skill to the defensemen.

“A key factor to our success will be how quickly our new bodies can adjust to the speed and physicality of college hockey,” Szkodzinski said. “Our goal is to be much stronger in the defensive and neutral zones. That has been a major focus during our first week of practice.”

The Vikings also return all three goaltenders, Mattias Soderqvist, Anton Olsson and Peter Emery. Soderqvist emerged as the starter after joining the team last year at mid-season. Despite just two wins, Soderqvist put together solid numbers with a .904 save percentage and 3.64 goals against average.

“Mattias has earned the opportunity to be our starting goaltender with his play and demeanor,” Szkodzinski said. “He has a presence about him that our players feed off of when he is in net. We are very confident in his abilities and expect him to be our rock in net this year.”

While Lawrence has a solid base and high expectations on defense, the Vikings have more questions on offense. Lawrence does return leading scorer Blake Roubos, who had 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points as a freshman in 2013-14. The offense will start with him, and other teams know that as well.

“Roubos’ first step was to get stronger over the summer because teams will key on him,” Szkodzinski said. “He did that and is hungry to build on last season. His line mates will have to help create space for him to be successful on the score sheet. Again, we will only be successful if everyone contributes.”

Lawrence also returns a host of other forwards, seniors Gustav Lindgren and Patrick Coyne, juniors Renato Engler, Matt Moore and Ryan Rumble, to name a few, but none have had a breakout campaign yet.

“We will definitely have to score by committee this season,” Szkodzinski said. “We have several players who are capable of putting the puck in the net, but they haven’t proven that they can do it consistently. That being the case, we will have to get contributions from all four lines.”

Lawrence reached the NCHA playoffs last year but were eliminated by eventual national champion St. Norbert College, a team the Vikings upset earlier in the season. While the Vikings certainly want to get to the point where they are battling for a NCHA championship, they aren’t looking too far ahead.

“We definitely have some long-term goals within the program, but all the matters right now is getting off to a good start and playing the right way,” Szkodzinski said. “If we play the right way, with grit and tenacity, the results will speak for themselves as the season progresses.”

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University hockey team drops the puck on its season on Friday night at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Lawrence opens the season with a two-game Northern Collegiate Hockey Association series against Concordia (Wis.) University. The series opener is in Appleton at 7 p.m., and the series finale is Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Ozaukee Ice Center.

Series preview

APPLETON, Wis. — Former Lawrence University hockey star Jonathon Sheridan is joining the Vikings’ coaching staff.

Sheridan, a 2011 Lawrence graduate, is the team’s new assistant coach. Sheridan replaces Kalle Larsson, who left the team after four seasons to work for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League. Larsson will serve as the team’s assistant general manager and director of scouting.

“I am more than honored and extremely humbled to be able to come back to Lawrence as a coach,” Sheridan said. “I think that it is every coach’s dream to be able to coach where they played. Not many get to do it, but to be able to do so is a dream come true for me.”

Lawrence Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski, who also is the Vikings’ head coach, was Sheridan’s collegiate coach.

“We are very excited to welcome Jon back to Lawrence,” Szkodzinski said. “Although Coach Larsson will be extremely difficult to replace, we think that Jon will pick right up where Coach Larsson left off. Jon’s tremendous character and experiences at Ohio University lead us to believe he is the perfect fit for our program.

“I want to thank Coach Larsson for his dedication and commitment to Lawrence hockey. He is a huge piece of the foundation of our program and a great friend. He will be excellent in his new role with Sioux City.”

Sheridan returns to Lawrence after two seasons coaching the American Collegiate Hockey Association team at Ohio University. Sheridan was the head coach in 2013-14 after serving as the assistant coach in 2012-13.

Sheridan was named the Central States Collegiate Hockey League Coach of the Year after his team finished second in the regular season this past season. The Bobcats put together a 30-8-3 record and played in the ACHA national tournament. Ohio went all the way to the semifinals of the national tournament and won the CSCHL Tournament in 2012-13.

A native of Midland, Mich., Sheridan played three seasons as a defenseman at Lawrence. Lawrence won 40 games in those three seasons and took the 2008-09 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Northern Division title. Sheridan, who had six goals and 16 assists for 22 points during his time at Lawrence, served as team captain and was named to the MCHA All-Tournament team in 2011.

“Jon brings experience on and off the ice,” Szkodzinski said. “During his time here as a scholar-athlete, Jon demonstrated a maturity level beyond his years. He relates to people very well and is eager to grow as a coach. We can’t wait to get him back to Appleton.”

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University rookie Blake Roubos has been named to the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association All-Freshmen Team in a vote by league coaches.

Roubos (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Michael’s), a freshman forward, led the team in scoring with 26 points this season. He posted a team-best 16 assists to go along with 10 goals, which was the second-highest total on the squad.

Roubos, who had two game-winning goals, ranked first in the league in rookie scoring at 1.00 points per game, which was 14th overall in the conference. He finished 10th in the conference in assists per game at 0.62 per game and 15th in goals per game at 0.38. Roubos also was sixth in the league in power-play points per game at 0.42.

Roubos recorded his first career hat trick and the first hat trick for a Lawrence player since the 2009-10 season when he scored three times in a 4-2 win over Finlandia University that clinched a berth in the NCHA playoffs. Roubos assisted on Lawrence’s other goal in the game. He had a season-best five points and a season-high three assists to go with two goals in Lawrence’s 6-6 nonconference tie with Gustavus Adolphus College early in the season.

Lawrence finished the season with a 6-19-2 mark and took eighth place in the NCHA.

Life has taken Ben DiMarco on an unlikely hockey journey from one island to another.

DiMarco started in the warmth of his oceanside island hometown of Galveston, Texas, moved on to college and the chill of Appleton, Wis., on to Sweden after graduation and now to the Nordic island town of Akureyri, Iceland.

DiMarco, who starred at forward for the Vikings from 2008-12, has parlayed his playing and coaching experience from his time at Lawrence into coaching the women’s national team in Iceland. DiMarco, who played in Sweden after graduation, was looking to play for Skautafélag Akureyrar in Iceland, and that job opened up the coaching opportunity.

“During the summer of 2013, the club was searching for a head coach for the women’s program as well as a forward to play for the men’s team,” DiMarco said. “After emailing and talking on the phone with the hockey director last summer, it became clear that I would be a perfect fit for both of these positions.”

DiMarco coached the Lawrence women’s hockey club team during his final three years on campus so he had experience behind the bench.

“The hockey director also mentioned that Ice Hockey Iceland was searching for a new head coach for the women’s national team,” DiMarco said. “When I arrived in Iceland in late September, the club helped me apply to be the head coach of the women’s national team for the 2013-14 season. Luckily, the circumstances and timing were right, and my experience coaching the women’s team at Lawrence ultimately won me the job.”

DiMarco credits his training with Lawrence head coach Mike Szkodzinski and his experience with Lawrence alumnus David Eddy in Lawrence’s Scholars in Business program as key components of his development.

“The Lawrence experience definitely taught me how to present myself and my ideas, as well as how to adapt to new and different situations,” DiMarco said. “While playing hockey at Lawrence, I observed coach Szkodzinski’s coaching style, and during my internship with Thomson Reuters in San Francisco, I worked closely with David Eddy, the company’s regional managing director. These two men have very different styles of leadership, and I developed much of my own approach to coaching through comparing and contrasting their methods.”

The first challenge for DiMarco in Iceland had nothing to do with coaching but a lot to do with name tags. Coaching more than 40 players and playing with 20 teammates, DiMarco had to learn lots of names, and let’s just say that these gals and guys aren’t named Sue or Bob or Dave. More like Guðrún, Heiðar and Ingþór. Good luck with that.

“Luckily, almost everyone in Iceland and on my teams speaks perfect English, so the language barrier has not been a problem while coaching or playing,” DiMarco said. “The best part of the new job is being able to get up every day and do something I love.”

Headed to MWC meet

The Lawrence track teams are headed to Cornell this weekend for the Midwest Conference Indoor Championships, and the Vikings are definitely looking to take a step up. The Lawrence men were eighth last season and the women took ninth.

The top performers looking for a title on the men’s side are Spencer Swick, JP Ranumas and Jonah Laursen as all three are ranked third in the league in their respective events. Swick is third in the weight throw with a toss of 46 feet, 10.25 inches, Ranumas is third in the 60-meter hurdles (8.74 seconds) and Laursen is third in the 5,000 (16:10.95).

On the women’s side, Anna Bolgrien is among the contenders in both the 60-meter hurdles and the 800. Elin Karlsson also leads a strong contingent in the distance events.

Elite company

Lawrence women’s basketball standout Alex Deshler finished her career in pretty elite company. The senior guard is one of only three players in school history with 900 and 600 rebounds. Deshler finished ninth in career scoring with 909 points and fifth with 604 rebounds. The others to have done it Felice Porrata (1,186/645) and Lawrence Hall of Famer Gina Seegers (942/609).