Posted: Mar 26, 2021
Cleveland State at Marquette
Saturday, March 27 | 12:00 p.m.
Valley Fields | Milwaukee, Wisc.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
The Cleveland State Vikings, who were previously scheduled to take on Marquette to open the season on March 13 before the contest was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols, will finally faceoff with the Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon on the road. Marquette is searching for its first victory after an 0-4 start in the Big East in addition to a loss to No. 8 Notre Dame last Wednesday while the Vikings are looking to bounce back from last Saturday's defeat at the hands of the same Notre Dame squad. Cleveland State is 1-1 against Marquette all time, including a 7-5 victory on March 9, 2019 on the road to open the head-to-head series.
NO LUCK AGAINST THE IRISH
Taking on a ranked opponent for the first time this season, the Vikings fell behind early and never recovered in a 19-5 loss to No. 8 Notre Dame last week. Chase Baker scored a pair of second-quarter goals and Dylan Warner dished out two assists, but the Fighting Irish controlled the dot with a 22-28 clip on faceoffs en route to a 57-30 advantage in shots. Kevin Sobey made 13 saves in net while Michael Wilson scored and notched a helper.
IN THE WIN COLUMN WITH DEFENSE
After falling to 0-2 to start the season, the Vikes picked up their first "W" on March 13, silencing Bellarmine's offensive attack in an 8-1 victory that saw sophomore goalie Kevin Sobey stop 17 of the 18 shots he faced. Chase Baker notched a hat trick in his first action of the campaign while Michael Wilson scored and dished out an assist. As a team, the Vikings posted their best defensive effort against a Division I opponent in program history, holding the opposition to under five goals for the first time ever. It also marked Cleveland State's first win while being outshot and fourth having fewer ground balls than the competition.
STAYING CONSISTENT
Chase Baker and Brendan Sigurdson are the only Vikings to score in all four games this season. Baker has not started a game since his freshman year in 2016-17 but seems to always find a way onto the scoresheet when he's active, netting five goals in only two appearances on the year. Meanwhile, Sigurdson is having a breakout season in his sophomore campaign, collecting a team-high 10 points with an even five goals and five assists after playing in only two games as a freshman.
GOING STREAKING
Michael Wilson was on fire to end 2019, tallying 45 points in his final 10 games. After posting 15 points in seven games in 2020 and scoring in every game of the 2021 campaign thus far, he now has points in 15 straight games, including 11 multi-point efforts in that span. After Tristan Hanna's 14-game streak was snapped last week, Wilson is now in sole possession of the longest point streak in program history. Wilson's first-quarter assist in the final home game last season pushed his career point total to 100, as he became the first-ever Viking to reach the century mark.
IN THE RANKINGS - AS A TEAM
The Vikings are second in the country in man-down defense at 81.8 percent, allowing only two EMO goals across 11 opportunities. Cleveland State is 24th in the country in caused turnovers per game (8.50) while ranking 37th in clearing percentage (.837) and 48th in shot percentage (.258).
IN THE RANKINGS - INDIVIDUALLY
Redshirt senior Zach Whitenack is leading NCAA Division I in caused turnovers per game (3.50) while goaltender Kevin Sobey has recorded 61 saves through four games, which gives the sophomore the fifth-most saves per game in the country: 15.25. Sobey is 11th in save percentage (.581) and 31st in goals-against average (11.17). Freshman Evan Moskwa ranks just outside the top 40 nationally in faceoff win percentage (.492).
MORE FROM MASI
Senior Stephen Masi scored a pair of unassisted tallies in last year's season opener against Marquette. In doing so, he equaled his goal total from all of 2019, when he played in just six games due to injury. It was Masi's first multi-goal outing since his freshman year.
