The Eastern hockey club split a two-game series over the weekend on the road against Loyola.

The club took the first game in dramatic fashion, with senior Mike Sorrentino adding a late overtime goal to secure the 6-5 win.

After being down 3-0, the team rallied back to make it 5-5 and sent the game into overtime.

It was in overtime where they would find their third win of the season.

“The final play started with our goalie, Andrew Teske, who deflected the shot that went right to Tim Shannon, who saw me breaking up the ice and passed it to me in between two defense man,” Sorrentino said. “I caught the puck, split the two defenders and was off on a breakaway. I kept my head up and saw the five hole was open, I shot it there and it went in.”

Sorrentino said the win was well deserved for the team.

“The team cleared the bench and celebrated with me,” he said. “It was a well deserved win for the whole team.”

However, things wouldn’t go as smoothly in the second game. The Panthers would fall by a score of 4-1, bringing the team’s overall record to 3-4-1.

“We were riding high off of the first game win, but unfortunately in the second game, we simply couldn’t put the puck in the net,” junior Andrew Maronich said.

Maronich said Loyola changed goalies for the second game, and the team had a tough time scoring against him.

“This goalie stood about 6-foot-7 on his skates and we had trouble putting the puck in behind him,” he said. “We had plenty of opportunities to get back into the game, but just couldn’t seem to make it happen.”

Along with trouble dealing with a new goaltender, Maronich also said the team gave up too many penalties in the second game.

“They had way to many power plays for us to win with only one goal.”

The team will now prepare for its next opponent, Indiana-Bloomington, who will host the Panthers next weekend.

“Our record is now 3-4-1 and we still have a lot more games left in the season,” Maronich said. “The season is still young and we like where we are at this point in time.”

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].