COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Spirit Ice Arena was the place to be for another great collegiate series as the East Texas Baptist University hockey team (D2) went head-to-head against Texas A&M University to battle for the #1 spot in the Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference (TCHC). ETBU came away with the sweep in two close contests, 3-1, and 3-2 to move to 13-5 on the year and 8-0 in the TCHC.
 

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ETBU 3 ,TAMU 1
ETBU came out on fire for game one against the Aggies. They were able to beat the Aggies and dominate the game in almost every area of the game on Friday night. Freshman netminder, Gavyn McCutcheon was in between the pipes shutting down 28 out of the 29 shots on goal. However, despite A&M having more shots on goal, the Tigers managed to score on the Powerplay (PP), Kill 11 penalties, and score 3 goals—resulting in a 3-1 win over TAMU.
 
The game went scoreless until 4:34 into the second period when Captain Spencer Mills put the Tigers on the board first, assisted by Sophomore Tristan Aun & Freshman Jeremy Niven. Halfway through the second--10:02 into the period—Bowen Buchanan tallied another for the Tigers while they were on the PP—with help from Mills and Matthew Duncan. Buchanan's goal would be the last goal of the period by either team—giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead over the Aggies as they headed into the final 20:00 of regulation.
 
The game wouldn't see another goal until 8:31 into the third period when the Aggies tallied their first goal of the night—hoping to stay alive. However, the lone Aggie goal wouldn't be enough and eventually led to the decision to pull their goalie, Jake Sirkis, to add a sixth skater against the Tigers. Dominic Desjardins took matters into his own hands with just 0:14 left in the game and shot the puck across the ice to score the Tiger's final goal on the Aggie's empty net. Desjardins game-winning-goal would seal the deal and earn the Tigers a 3-1 lead over the Aggies.
 

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ETBU 3, TAMU 2
 
The Tigers didn't start off their second tilt against the Aggies as strongly as they had the night before. But, with the first place slot still waiting to be claimed, ETBU kicked it into gear and began to play their game as soon as the second period was underway. McCutcheon went back into the crease for the Tigers, making 25 out of 27 saves—helping the Tigers secure a 3-2 Overtime (OT) win over the Aggies.
 
The Tigers fell behind the Aggies during the first period. The Aggies put themselves on the board first with just 3:31 left before the first intermission. The single Aggie goal would give them a 1-0 lead after the first 20:00 of play.
 
The second period went scoreless until almost right at the halfway point. Texas A&M snuck one past McCutcheon 10:27 into the period. ETBU responded roughly 3 minutes later with only 6:55 left before the next break, Dmitrii Sergeev caught the puck from Ray Kelly and buried it in the back of the net—putting the Tigers on the board. Shortly after, Jason Guntow and Dominic Desjardins played tic-tac-toe with Caleb Goudreau—helping him find the back of the net to score the equalizer. Goudreau's goal made it a 2-2 game after 40:00 of hockey.
 
Tensions were high when the final period went without a goal and without a penalty for either club. This forced the game into a 3-v-3 5:00 minute Sudden Death Overtime. If neither team was to score during OT—the game would then go into a shootout. But Carson Loos said enough was enough as he slipped the game-winning-goal past the A&M Goalie, Jake Sirkis, securing a 3-2 win over the Aggies and first place in the TCHC.
 
ETBU will now be off until January 13-15 when they travel to Colorado for three games vs. Denver, Colorado State, and Weber State.