Sophomore forward Michael Ferrantino was the No. 1 star with a goal and an assist, freshman forward Villiam Haag came in at No. 2 with a goal and a team-high six shots, and sophomore goalie Jake ?Hildebrand rounded out the group with his 20-save performance.

“It was a good opportunity today to give a lot of guys some game experience,” head coach Tom Anastos said. “It was good for those guys to get a little better tempo than we’ve been able to create so far.”

Freshman forward Mackenzie MacEachern and freshman forward Thomas Ebbing were paired on the third line with junior forward Brent Darnell.

Both are from Troy, Mich., and both played in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel.

Anastos said he put the pair on the same line at the last minute, and he wanted to pair up other young players that have played together in the past.

“Up until yesterday, I kept MacEachern and Ebbing ?separate because it seems like their whole life they’ve played together, but I liked their chemistry,” he said. ?“Darnell added a physical presence to that group. Ferrantino and (freshman forward Joe) Cox played together years ago.”

Cox especially impressed Anastos, finishing with one goal and two shots in his first game in green and white.

For senior forward Greg Wolfe, it’s special to have a freshman class that possesses many different qualities but fits in with the existing group so well.

“We’ve got four, five different players in that class that play different and that’s kind of the special thing about them,” Wolfe said. “They’re all ?physical, but they bring a different element. Cox is penalty killing and working hard, (freshman forward JT Stenglein) is getting shots on goal, Haag’s using his body.”

Redshirt freshman defender Rhett Holland made his first appearance since last ?October against Lake ?Superior State and contributed three shots and a physical ?presence on the top ?defensive pairing with sophomore defender Travis Walsh.

He said there was some? anxiety to get back out on the ice, but this game was a ?stepping stone to get the team moving in the right direction.

“I liked that I kept it simple,” Holland said.

“I wasn’t worried with the puck, it was just ?getting back into it and (being) a little bit nervous at times. It’s nice to get a game under my belt and hopefully, we can keep moving forward.”