EDWARDSVILLE — The Edwardsville Tigers hockey team secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory against O’Fallon on Thursday night, January 2, 2024, marking the first loss of the season for their opponents at the Edwardsville RP Lumber Center Rink.
The match began with a defensive focus, as both teams ended the first period without scoring. The Tigers broke the deadlock in the second period when Zach Cohn found the net at the 12:59 mark, with Reid Poettker providing the assist. Edwardsville doubled its lead at 10:35, as Jackson Ruf scored, again assisted by Poettker.
O’Fallon responded with two quick goals from Jack Vahle, the team’s leading scorer, who netted back-to-back goals just a minute apart. Vahle’s first goal came with assistance from Colton Miller, leveling the score at 2-2 as the period came to a close.
The decisive moment of the game arrived in the final period when Edwardsville’s Dean Schlarman scored the winning goal at the 9:55 mark. The Tigers outshot O’Fallon significantly, with a total of 42 shots compared to O’Fallon’s 17.
Edwardsville head coach Jason Walker reflected on the importance of the victory, stating, “We have seen them a lot and we know a lot about their team and they are a great team. They got us at the beginning of the season and this was a big game we wanted to win and our guys played very well.”
