The West Virginia club hockey team split its two season matches with Mercyhurst College this past weekend.
The team lost the first game Friday night 4-3 before bouncing back Saturday with a 7-3 win.
West Virginia suffered 13 penalties, two of which resulted in power play goals for Mercyhurst.
"There were a lot more penalties called in the first game than the second," Anderson said. "We are a 5-on-5 team – the less power plays and penalty kills we have, the better we are."
Mercyhurst got off to a fast start by scoring 34 seconds into the game.
West Virginia came back to score a few minutes later, however, with a goal from Brent Hart assisted by Bryan Sigley and Kris Anderson.
Mercyhurst capitalized on its power play goal with less than a minute to play in the first period.
After suffering 24 penalty minutes in the first game and an early goal, West Virginia had the same problems Saturday as Mercyhurst recorded its first goal only two minutes into the game.
Junior Chris Wilder saved 29 shots in the second night, allowing three Mercyhurst goals.
"Chris has been playing well for us. In league games, he has been great," Anderson said. "In nonleague games, he has been struggling a little more, but we play a very tough nonconference schedule, so it’s expected."
After trailing 1-0 after the first period, West Virginia went on a scoring spree in the second.
Five different West Virginia players scored in the second period, all coming within a five-minute span.
Tyler King scored three minutes into the period to tie the score 1-1.
Only a minute later, Ken Bickell scored for WVU, while Mitch Rosendale followed suit and scored shortly thereafter.
Despite Saturday’s scoring output, West Virginia had the same mistakes as its loss the night before, committing 11 penalties.
With two league games coming up this weekend, those penalties will have to be fixed.
"This weekend, we’ll be working on the penalty kill, power play and forechecking," Anderson said.
The team is capable of scoring in bunches but will have to limit penalties before tough matchups against Slippery Rock and Duquesne University.
EQUESTRIAN
The West Virginia equestrian team competed in a morning show with Rutgers last weekend.
In Class 11 beginner Western Horsemanship, Bryan McDonnell and Katherine Mabry finished first and second, respectively.
Courtney Davisson finished first place in Class 12 A-Intermediate, while Grace Skaff finished first place in 12 B.
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