The Eastern hockey club started its Thanksgiving Break with a win and a loss against Northern Illinois on Nov. 16 and 17 at the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva.

The Panthers, now 7-4-3, were the first team this season to take down the Huskies at home, winning the second game by a score of 3-2.

However, the Panthers fell 5-4 in overtime in the opening contest, following a goal by Northern in the extra period.

Eastern senior goalie Andrew Teske called the loss frustrating for the Panthers.

“They had a two on one, and I thought he was going to pass it over but he shot it and got me over my shoulder,” Teske said in a press release on the team’s website. “It was a good shot, but frustrating that we couldn’t get the win.”

The Panthers rebounded in the second game, following a third period goal by senior forward Connor Cox.

Despite being up 2-0, the Huskies still managed to tie it up in the third period.

“We were excited about the 2 goal lead, but we all knew that we had to keep plugging away because 2-0 was not going to win the game,” Cox said in a press release.

Teske said the closing minutes of the game were crucial, especially having already taken Northern to overtime the previous night.

“I felt like the last ten minutes of that game lasted about two hours,” he said. “It was pretty nerve racking how many chances they had within that last ten minutes, but fortunately we were able to hold on.”

Eastern head coach Brad Piercy said that the team needs to experience more close games like these, if it wants to add wins to the their record.

“If we play exactly like we did last night, but we don’t take as many penalties, or get caught up in the extra circulars, we will win this game,” Piercy said.

Penalties have been a problem for the team all year, and senior forward Sam Guttosh said penalties is part of what led to the Panthers’ defeat in the first game.

“It seemed like we couldn’t go more than 5 minutes without someone going to the box,” Guttosh said.

After a week off, the Panthers will be back in action this weekend with a two game series against Louisville University at their home ice in Danville on Friday and Saturday.

Start times have yet to be determined for these games at this time.

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