Polar Bears Shutout Stanford to Remain Undefeated

A week after defeating Stanford University 15-3, the Polar Bears shutout the team 10-0 on Stanford’s home ice last night to improve to a 7-0 record.

The rematch of the October 12 game started with some confusion on the ice, but that didn’t stop forward Chris Whitten from taking advantage to make it an early 1-0 game. Jackson Joyce followed it up with his third goal of the year, along with Brian Cochran, Marcel Delagnes and Blake Johnson, to cap a six goal lead at the end of the first period.

Both teams struggled with inconsistency in the second period, with the Polar Bears managing to score only once on a shot by forward Josiah Nikkel. SRJC fared better in the third, closing it out with three more goals to secure the shutout. Goalie Troy Tennison earned his second win of the season, blocking 11 shots on goal. He has seen increased playing time, logging nearly 200 minutes in the net in five games.

“I feel good so far; the team has played very well, so it’s easy to be confident going into every game,” Tennison said. “The shutout reflects the awesome chemistry we have as a unit and that we can finish the game strong all the way to the end.”

In the game, nine different players scored goals with a total of 14 player assists. Dylan Dixon continued his point streak (six games) with one goal and three assists, along with Josiah Nikkel (seven games) who contributed one goal and two assists. This game marked the first match of the season for returning player Sam Davis, who scored a goal in the third period.

“It feels great to be home with all the boys. I love playing hockey and spending time with my 20 best friends,” Davis said. “We have an unreal group of guys who are here to work hard towards a common goal. We’re very excited and ready to battle some highly-skilled teams through the next stretch of our season.”

Next week, the Polar Bears will go on a four game road trip to take on College of the Canyons (CoC), Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona State University.

Last season, NAU took part in the team’s Wine Country Collegiate Classic, winning 8-4. SRJC hasn’t seen CoC since the 2011-12 season, which the Southern California team won 7-4. Three players-Adam Johnson, Blake Johnson and John Keshishian- scored a point in that game and are still with the team. This will be the first time SRJC will see ASU’s Division II team and former goalie Danny Roy.

“This road trip is huge. Our season rides on us winning these games but I am confident in our abilities as a team. We’re ready to go,” Jackson Joyce said, adding that he is “fully torqued for this roadie,” and excited to face some tough teams he’s never seen before.

The Polar Bears will head to Valencia, Calif. to play CoC October 24, before heading to Arizona to face ASU (Oct.25) and NAU (Oct. 26-27). Fans can stay up-to-date here and on the team’s social media pages.

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