The Kent State club hockey team (14-2) swept Rochester College (1-12) this weekend with two dominating performances at home. 

The Flashes won 6-2 on Friday night and 3-0 on Saturday night, showcasing why they are the 23rd ranked team in the country.

“I think our strongest points were in the first and second period when we competed at a high level,” Underwood said. “It was great to see other lines create offense. Moving forward we have find a way to put our minds to it and finish teams off in the third period.”

Chance Taylor contributed to the Flashes’ victory on Friday night by scoring two goals, one to take the lead 2-1 and one to extend it 4-1 in the second period.

“Justin Bioni made a good pass to me on a breakaway and I was able to throw a small shoulder fake in and score,” Taylor said. “We did a good job of finding different ways to score and we did a good job of maintaining offensive pressure throughout the game.”

The team focused on defense over the week in practice and it paid off on Saturday night, as the  Flashes shut out the Warriors, 3-0

“We started working on our defensive zone,” Underwood said. “How we enter our defensive zone, picking up assignments and coming into the zone. From there, filtering into our defensive zone coverage will be really critical for us.”

Captain Mike Sullivan said the team needs to “focus on the details” moving forward in the season.

“We played our game, simple as that,” Sullivan said. “We capitalized on their mistakes and defended their game plan well. We slipped away from that at the end of the game and gave them a little life. So we just need to focus on our game plan and stay disciplined.”

Assistant captain Xavier Sudlow said the team needs to “let plays happen.”

“We got down a goal but just stayed the course,” Sudlow said. “We need to improve on sticking to our game and not letting them back in the game. We also need to stay disciplined. I think we played well in the first half of the game. That was when our team was at its best.”

The Flashes are off 10 days for Thanksgiving break; a break that Underwood is coming at a good time because the Flashes are a little “banged up.”

“We are going to have Thanksgiving week off,” Underwood said. “Guys are going to rest there will be some open optional ice early next week. I expect them to go home, have fun and enjoy their family time. I expect them to come back ready to work after the break.”

The Flashes will be back in action Thursday Nov. 29, 7:00 p.m. at Adrian College.

Morgan Dunlop is a sports reporter. Contact him at [email protected].