The Flashes showed their offensive skills against Pittsburgh this weekend with an 8-7 shootout win at home Friday and a 10-5 beating on the road Saturday.

“We played down to their level on Friday after gaining a good lead,” assistant coach Eddie Martin said. “Saturday we were more prepared and played better as a team.”

After the first period Friday, Kent State held a 5-0 lead with the help of four power-play goals.

Pitt bounced back in the second period with five goals of their own to make the score 6-5.

Going into the third, Pitt tied the game. Then senior defenseman Jon Moser scored on the power play with two minutes left to give the Flashes the lead, but Pitt responded a minute later and sent the game into overtime.

“We got up by a lot and put it into cruise control,” junior forward Darian Thomas said. “Then the momentum flipped to their side.”

After an excellent penalty kill by the Flashes, a scoreless overtime moved into a shootout.

Sophomore forward Justin Phenney and senior forward Jon Canniff scored to secure the win for Kent State.

“After Friday night, we really learned that you can’t take teams too lightly,” Phenney said. “On Saturday we tried to bring everything together and play a complete game.”

The road trip to Pittsburgh and the late-night game which started at 9:30 p.m. didn’t seem to be a factor for the team. Seven players contributed to the final 10-5 score, and Phenney netted another hat trick.

“We kept our composure well,” junior forward Bobby Lyle said. “We knew the game wasn’t over until the final buzzer.”

Sophomore goalie Anthony Natali was between the pipes for the entire game Saturday and kept the Flashes’ defense strong while the offense went to work.

Seventeen goals in regulation this weekend fits in with Kent State’s offensive style of hockey, but the coaches want to see a solid defensive game as well.

“High-scoring games are great,” Martin said. “But we need to tighten up our defense.”

This weekend the Flashes will go back to work after the holiday with the Wooster Thanksgiving Tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

The wins this weekend make the Flashes’ record 13-6