JANESVILLE, Wis. - The Beloit College Buccaneers men's hockey team got its first victory of the 2026-27 season this evening, beating Hiram 3-1 at Woodman's Sports & Convention Center. The win moves Beloit to 1-4-0, while the Terriers fall to 0-5-0.
Beloit controlled the game from the opening faceoff, outshooting Hiram 49-14 and winning 44 of 61 faceoffs. Hiram goaltender Ian Amaranto stopped 46 shots and kept the Terriers close for much of the night.
Beloit broke through late in the first period. Andronique Stepanian (Reynoldsburg, OH) scored at 9:10 of the opening frame, assisted by Valerii Kneib (Dmitrov, Russia), to make it 1-0. The Buccaneers piled up 19 shots in the period while Hiram managed just two.
Beloit put the game out of reach in the second period with two goals in just over two minutes. Will McDonald (Madison, Wis.) converted with the man advantage after the Buccaneers' power play had been pressing for more than a minute. Max Von Klinggraeff (Edina, MN) and Nik Johnson (Minneapolis, MN) assisted on the goal, which made it 2-0. Mac Reed (Waunakee, WI) scored unassisted at 11:42 to push the lead to 3-0.
Hiram's Easton Simpson cut the lead to 3-1 on a power-play goal with just 8.4 seconds left in the period, assisted by Cole Mitchell and Keith Smilowitz. The Buccaneers shut the door in the third, holding Hiram to four shots.
Goaltender Mitch Taylor (Hamburg, NY) earned the win, turning aside 13 of the 14 shots he faced over nearly the full 60 minutes. In front of him, McDonald led the Beloit attack with a power-play goal in the second period and a team-high eight shots on goal. Landon Adams (St. Paul, MN) matched that total with eight shots of his own, keeping constant pressure on Hiram's Ian Amaranto.
Reed provided the goal that made it 3-0, finishing the night a plus-1 with six shots. Stepanian gave the Buccaneers the lead in the first period and added three shots, also finishing plus-1. Von Klinggraeff and Johnson both picked up assists on McDonald's power-play goal.
Kneib set up Stepanian's opening goal and won 12 of his 13 faceoffs, while Zach Hutchinson (West Salem, WI) (11 wins) and J.D. Shoniker (Burlington, ON) (nine wins) helped Beloit control the circle all night.
The Bucs and Terriors have a quick turnaround for a 4 pm puck drop tomorrow afternoon.
