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SPORTS
THE SAINT |WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11,2013
Detroit Red Wings By Taylor Hodges The Saint Reporter The Detroit Red Wings are sitting comfortably in the Eastern Conference after a pair of wins. Beating opponents Buffalo, Boston, New York and Ottawa gave the team that extra push needed to be in the top half of the conference. Their four game win streak would end with a heartbreaking loss to Philadelphia, but they have a chance to redeem themselves with pair of home games, and we all know how good the Wings are at home. Still leading the team in points is captain Henrik Zetterberg who has gone pointless in his last two games. He looks to build on his three point effort against Boston a couple weeks ago. Zetterberg leads the team with 30 points in 28 games.
Not too far behind him is Pavel Datsyuk, with 23 points in 24 games. Datsyuk has been in and out of the lineup due to concussion symptoms. Fans should know that he is expected to return soon after participating in morning skates and feeling no concussion symptoms. Also looking to follow Datsyuk on the road of recovery is former Western Michigan Bronco Danny DeKeyser. DeKeyser has been out for seven games after suffering a separated shoulder against Nashville and is still a few weeks away despite participating in morning skates. Looking to stick with the team this year is former Grand Rapids Griffin Gustav Nyquist. Nyquist, who has six points in seven games with Detroit this season, seems to be
Aquinas women’s basketball
finding his way into the lineup on a regular basis and, according to General Manger Ken Holland, is going to be sticking with the team for the rest of the season. Also looking to stick with the team is rookie Brian Lashoff. Having played in 25 games so far this year and performing quite well, Lashoff seems to have finally found a home in the Wings lineup despite being more a defensive player. If you happen to like Jonathan Ericsson, he has signed a contract extension to remain with the Wings for the next six years. Ericsson would have become an unrestricted free agent in the summer had the Wings decided not to resign him. The Red Wings will play next on Thursday, December 12, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Playing with devotion Senior Hugh Ingalls leads AQ hockey on and off the ice COURTESY ANDRIS VISOCKIS
Put it up: Sophomore Dani Lollo shoots around her opponent in home court action this season. Lollo and the Saints have a 9-1 record this season. By Alyssa Frese Sports Editor
COURTESY ANDRIS VISOCKIS
Staredown: Senior Hugh Ingalls eyes his opponent this season in home rink play. Ingalls will graduate in May with a degree in Sutainable Business. By Alyssa Frese Sports Editor Hockey is a sport that takes a great deal of time, practice, persistence and money. None of these things have prevented senior Hugh Ingalls from staying involved with the sport he has grown to love since beginning it at the young age of five years old. “My dad was involved with hockey and skating before I was born. My parents got me involved and I’ve been playing ever since,” said Ingalls. “I fell in love with the game.” Ingalls credits his parents as having the largest influence on his hockey career as well as former NHL superstar Sergei Fedorov. “It would have been possible to play hockey growing up without the support of my parents. They provided transportation and funded the bills for travel hockey which was quite expensive,” said Ingalls. “Fedorov was my favorite hockey player growing up.” Ingalls was so passionate about hockey that he decided he wanted to play in college; however, Aquinas did not have their own hockey team at the time when Ingalls decided to enroll as a student. “I decided to enroll at Aquinas initially because of the Sustainable
Business program. When I realized Aquinas didn’t have a program, I started to advocate for team my senior year of high school by e-mailing the president and [Associate Director of Admissions] Jeremy Wood.” After expressing his desire for a hockey team at Aquinas, Ingalls entered in a Business Pitch Competition with the help of other Aquinas students Nolan Smith, Louis Vecchio and Christian Potter. “There were 18 guys in a rec league my freshman year, but by the beginning of sophomore year we were approved as a team. We had practice once a week and were granted $10,000 from Student Senate,” said Ingalls. “We were recruited 15 guys and 12 of those 15 stayed on the team.” Ingalls considers starting the hockey program at Aquinas to be the greatest achievement in his overall hockey career. “It feels great to know all the hard work has paid off. Giving other kids the opportunity to play college hockey is huge,” said Ingalls. “None of it would have been possible without the support from the Athletic Department and (Vice President for Enrollment Management) Paula Meehan and the Management Office.”
Since hockey has played such a large role in Ingalls’s life, he plans to stay as involved as possible with the program after he graduates in May. “I would love to help recruit. I will definitely stay in touch with the program,” said Ingalls. “If I stay around the Grand Rapids area, I could play a bigger role in the recruitment process.” Ingalls has been dedicated to the Aquinas team since day one and his hard work does not go unnoticed. “It’s been a privilege to watch Hugh develop as both a person and an athlete over the past three years,” said Aquinas head coach Mark VanVliet. “He was an instrumental part in the startup of this program and has paved the way for the new recruiting class of Aquinas student athletes.” After he graduates in May with a degree in Sustainable Business, Ingalls is optimistic about where he wants to end up. “My dream job would be working for a corporation or working within the office of sustainability at a college or university,” said Ingalls. “I am open to moving anywhere in the country, but I would love to eventually raise a family in Grand Rapids.”
Aquinas men’s hockey By Alyssa Frese Sports Editor The Aquinas men’s hockey team is playing a solid season so far. With an overall record of 11-6, the Saints seem have hit a bit of a rough patch, losing the last four games in a row. The Saints played two games against Calvin College on November 22 and 23. The first game, played at Calvin College, was well-played by both teams. The Saints ultimately lost 3-1 with the lone goal being scored by senior Hugh Ingalls. The next night, the Saints came back determined to defeat the Knights, but ended up losing 4-3, with goals being scored by freshman Corey Giffel, sophomore Brendan Giffel and senior Greg Baranyai. The Saints then played Adrian in two games this past weekend, one at
home and one on the road. The Saints were defeated in both games against the Bulldogs. The Saints are improving significantly from the previous season, where they finished with an overall record of 15-13. This is only the second season of the Saints being an official team at Aquinas. With a little less than half a season left to play, there are still high hopes for the Saints. “We’ve certainly raised the bar in terms of commitment, depth, and talent,” said head coach Mark VanVliet. “Our strengths this season are the development of our ‘top tier’ talent and the solid recruiting class. The future certainly looks bright.” VanVliet does not feel discouraged by the recent losses. He is optimistic about the remainder of the season and is projecting nothing but positivity and encouragement to the Sports Editor Alyssa Frese
team. Like many coaches, he ideally would like to make it to the conference championship, but that isn’t the only thing that matters to VanVliet. “There is a broader goal of developing and preparing young men for the challenges that await them in their professional, post graduate life,” said VanVliet. “Years from now when this current crop of sophomores and upperclassmen look back on their time at Aquinas - and being part of the inaugural ‘start up’ of AQ Hockey - I would hope they grasp the enormity of what they really accomplished. I am confident that those experiences will serve them well. “ The Saints play their next two games against Davenport University on December 13 and 14.
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The Aquinas women’s basketball team has played an impressive season so far, with an overall record of 9-1. The Saints have been on top of their game. With a four game win streak, the Saints seem to be unstoppable. On November 23, the Saints played at UM-Dearborn and won 96-57. Putting up the most points for the Saints were juniors Allison Heberlein and Chelsea Matley. Heberlein had 14 points and Matley had 13 points. Next, the Saints played Concordia at home, winning 77-58. High scorers for the Saints were Heberlein, with 15 points, senior Taelor Sanders with 14 points and senior Marisa Marx with 12 points. “There isn’t just one person an opposing team needs to worry about stopping,” said Sanders. “We have five plus players that could put up double figure points at any time.” In their next match-up against Lourdes, the Saints never let up, winning 60-43 against the Grey Wolves. The top scorers for the Saints were Sanders, with 17 points, and Heberlein, with 12 points. In their most recent game against Marygrove on December 7, the Saints were again
victorious, defeating the Mustangs 64-60. Top scorers were Marx, with an impressive 22 points, and Heberlein with 17 points. With such successful wins, the rest of the season looks promising and the Saints are hoping to make it farther than they have in a long time. “Every game our team has our goals we are going to hold our opponents defensively and offensively-these goals are proving to be huge in our wins,” said senior Jenna Brower. “When we meet our goals we gain a victory. Our biggest goal of the season is to win the conference and travel to Sioux City, Iowa to play for a national championship.” The closeness of the team off the court may definitely have an impact in the success of the team on the court. “I can count on everyone on my team and we all get along better than ever” said sophomore Dani Lollo. “Our team unity and being a family is a big strength and so is our defense and pressure.” The Saints play tonight at home against Olivet and if they keep up the hard work, they may come out with a five-win streak. Anything is possible with the talent displayed on the court this season.
College football update Spartans beat the Buckeyes to advance to the Rose Bowl By Joe Foldenauer The Saint Reporter The Michigan State Spartans have had a great season this year. During the past few weeks, the Spartans played two great games against the Northwestern Huskies, winning 40-3 and the against Minnesota Gophers 14-3. During that game, Jeremy Langford had an incredible 21 carries, 134 yards and one touchdown. Cook had a light game with only attempting 20 passes, completing 10 for a total of 143 yards with one touchdown and one interception. This past Saturday history was made when Michigan State beat Ohio State. Not only did this game mark the end of a 24 game win streak for Buckeyes coach Urban Meyers, but it also established that the Spartans will be headed to the Rose Bowl. The Spartans proved that they have greatly improved this season and have become a tough team to beat. Connor Cook played a great game, throwing three touchdowns and a total of 304 yards and won the MVP Award. Also playing a great game was Jeremy Langford, who had 24 carries with a total of 128 yards and one
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touchdown. The Spartans will play in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2014, against the Stanford Cardinals. The Michigan Wolverines had a rough finish to their season, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 24 -21 andto Ohio State 42-41. A win for the Wolverines looked possible, but somehow Iowa, after being down 14 points at the half, managed to come back and seal the win for them with a fumble recovery with a few minutes left in the game. Then, during the following week, the Wolverines played one of their toughest and oldest rivals: the Buckeyes. The Wolverines put in a good fight, but with 32 seconds left and with a possible overtime, Gardner went for two and was unable to complete the pass losing the game. The Wolverines ended the regular season with a record of 7-5. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came close to pulling off a win against the eighth ranked team in the country, Stanford, but fell short losing 27-20. Notre Dame ended the regular season 8-4 and looks forward to the return of Everett Golson next season.