Returning to the ice after their semester break, the Kent State University D-I American Collegiate Hockey Association (A.C.H.A.) squad appears poised to make a strong push through their eight remaining games.

     Each of those games is an important College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA) league contest for the Golden Flashes. Kent (13-7-1, 2-3-1) has played the fewest amount of league contests among teams in the CHMA and has an opportunity to improve their position in the standings.

     “The team came back with an outstanding level of engagement and were prepared and ready to go,” observed Kent State Head Coach Zach Nowak while discussing his team’s return to campus.

     “We are all rowing the boat together. This team does have the potential to have some high success.”

     Evidence of the Golden Flashes’ preparedness was last weekend’s sweep of Concordia University.

     Kent out-muscled Concordia 3-1 in the physical series opener Friday night and completed the sweep with a 5-1 win on Saturday.

     “I think we all agreed that Saturday was one of our best overall games,” explained Nowak. “Some of our top guys were out (due to injury) and the guys did an amazing job of rallying together to put together such a really good performance. Guys did a great job stepping up into new roles.”

     The final string of CHMA contests begins with a home-and-home series against the University of Pittsburgh this weekend.

     The Panthers’ series offers a chance for the Golden Flashes to measure themselves against one of the top teams in the A.C.H.A. National Rankings as Pittsburgh is currently ranked 14th.

     “We wanted to be coming into Pitt full swing. This will probably be our biggest test yet,” declared Nowak. “We’re excited, especially based on the work our guys have put in and the engagement they had in practice. We’re excited to see how it all shakes out.”

     Nowak revealed that the team has adjusted their focused to Kent’s “brand of hockey,” rather than their opponent’s when preparing for games.

     “It is something we slowly changed bit-by-bit,” Nowak said. “Mentally, the mindset of talking about ourselves and our brand of hockey has made a really nice switch and that is something we have enjoyed. It seems to be working for us.”

     Zach Zwierecki (26 points 1.24 PPG Average), Jonathan Gabriel (25 points 1.19 PPG Average) and Koby Greenberg (23 points 1.28 PPG Average) lead Kent’s offensive output. Gabriel, a towering 6’7” Freshman forward and Ravenna native, has impressed Nowak with his development as more than just a “skill player”.

     “Johnny has a ton of skill. One thing that has impressed our staff is that his work ethic from the start of the (season) has been unbelievable. He does not fit the definition of a skill player anymore because the kid is out there blocking shots, is one of our best defensive players, is one of our best face off guys. His work ethic on the backcheck has been awesome,” remarked Nowak.

    Netminders Nicholas Beck (3.01 GAA and .916 Save Percentage) and Shea Spanier (3.23 GAA and 9.04 Save Percentage) have been important fixtures thus far, in a season in which the Golden Flashes are one win away from doubling their number of wins from their last full season in 2019-2020.

   Beck, a freshman, leads all A.C.H.A. rookie goalies in games played according to Nowak.

   Several other first year players, including Zach Henry, Kyle Vent and Nick Krestan are also successfully adjusting to the collegiate game.

   “It’s nice to see young guys that are filling big roles,” assessed Nowak.