Coralville, Iowa- Fans battled traffic and road closures as they made their way to Xtream arena today, many of whom came from Kinnick Stadium following an Iowa Hawkeye Football win. The local fans got to head home happy from both games, as Eastern Iowa’s teams both came home with wins, as the Heartlanders completed the three-game sweep of the Kalamazoo Wings with a win by a score of 2-1, as Maxim Cajkovic netted a goal, Davis Koch got a goal and an assist, and Louis Boudon tallied two assists. Yuki Miura also picked up an assist.
The Heartlanders earned their first three-game win streak since November 26-30, 2022, when they had wins over Cincinnati and Kansas City, and notched their first-ever sweep in a series of 3 games or longer.
Many fans were also ecstatic to see the return of the Trash Pile, the first official Heartlanders Fan club. This group is known for wearing white tank tops and being rowdy throughout the course of games without causing incidents in the stands. The Heartlanders also have won 4 of the last 5 games the group has attended. The Trash Pile is part of a student organization on the University of Iowa’s Campus known as The Salt Company.
“Today I attended a low-scoring, defensively minded game with incredible special teams… and I also went to a Hawkeye Football Game,” one member of the Pile said, joking about the fact that Hawkeye Football and Heartlanders Hockey both specialize in those aspects of their respective games.
The Heartlanders killed two penalties and one 4v4. Iowa did let in one Power Play Goal, but a shot before that drew blood on Iowa’s Hunter Lellig, which should have resulted in an instant stoppage of play that was not called. Iowa is still among the best in the league in penalty kills. Lellig did not return for the remainder of the game, but the incident did occur late in the third period, meaning that the homegrown talent not returning to the ice does not necessarily speak to his health.
Peyton Jones shined again, becoming the first Iowa goalkeeper to win every game of a 3+ game win streak since Corbin Kaczperski in February through March of 2022, and the first-ever time Iowa’s opponent has gone three games with just one goal. Jones had 34 saves today and appears to have won the job of Iowa’s starting goalkeeper.
Peyton Jones and the Iowa Heartlanders will continue their homestand against the Utah Grizzlies on Wednesday, November 15 with a 10:30 am start for field trip day, as well as a 6:30 game on Friday the 17th and the Military Appreciation game currently slated for 6:00 pm on the 18th, which may be subject to change due to conflicting with the Hawkeye Football game.
