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SIUE goalie Brendan Rasch made 30 saves in his team's 3-2 loss to the University of Illinois in the MACHA Tournament at the Maryville University Hockey Center in Chesterfield, Missouri.
SIUE Cougars file
EAST ALTON - Tyler Elbrecht is already ready to start working on the 2023-24 college hockey season. That's both good and bad news, as far as he is concerned.
Elbrecht, the SIUE Cougars hockey club head coach, has time to work on putting together his team's roster for next season because the current season came to an end over the weekend at the Mid-America Club Hockey Association Tournament at the Maryville University Hockey Center in Chesterfield, Missouri.
SIUE fell to the University of Illinois 3-2 in its tourney opener in a game that Elbrecht indicated was a sort of microcosm of the Cougars' season - close but not close enough in the end.
SIUE fell behind the Fighting Illini 1-0, scored a pair of goals late in the second period to take the lead, then gave up two unanswered goals in the third period. In the win-or-go-home tournament, that meant the end of the season for the Cougars.
"We knew going in that any team in the tournament could win it," Elbrecht said. "But that wasn't us as it turned out.
"It was a good back-and-forth game, but we couldn't come up with the equalizer."
The Cougars had a shot at tying the game late in regulation, but a shot caromed off a goal post.
"Losing was unexpected," Elbrecht said. "We thought we could have won the whole thing. Any team could have won it."
That team turned out to be the the Iowa Hawkeyes, who defeated Illinois State University in the MACHA Tournament championship game Sunday and will move on to the ACHA Tournament.
After a scoreless first period in its opening-round defeat, SIUE fell behind the Fighting Illini early in the second period. But the cougars rallied with back-to-back goals.
Jakob Schreiber, a junior from Collinsille, scored the tying goal at 17:23 of the second period, assisted by Christian Perry, a senior from Colorado.
Th, with just 45 seconds remaining in the second period, Austin Aldrich, a freshman from Lake Orion, Michigan, gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead, from an assist by Schreiber.
But the Cougars weren't able to protect the lead in the third period. The Illini came from behind to grab the victory.
Illinois out-shot the Cougars 33-32, but SIUE goalie Brendan Rasch, a junior from Maryville, came up with 30 saves.
"Rasch did a great job in goal," Elbrecht said.
"We had a better year than a lot of people thought we might going in," Elbrecht said. "It was kind of bittersweet. There was more cohesiveness on the team this season, but we were still learning our team identity."
With a roster dominated with underclassmen, the Cougars still will need to replace four seniors heading into next season. Elbrecht said that process has already begun.
Elbrecht, who grew up in the Troy and Edwardsville areas, played college hockey at Mankato State following three years in junior hockey. He later played professional hockey in Boise, Idaho and with the Kansas City Mavericks, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.
Elbrecht, who also directs the Elite Hockey Facility in East Alton, has been busy on the recruiting trail.
"I'm already reaching out, looking at players across the country," he said. "I've probably already talked to 50 players. we have one transfer committed already.
"Club hockey players are like any others," he said. "At the end of the day, they want to win."
