Cougars Top Falcons in Shootout

MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia ACHA Hockey team fell to the Sault Cougars in a late-night showdown on Friday, dropping to the Cougars in a shootout. The contest featured a four-goal performance by freshman Chuck Emme (Glenview, Ill.) on the team's second-annual Mental Health Awareness Night.

Neither team found the back of the net in the opening period of play, largely in part to strong goaltending stands. Sault goalie Zach Tarantini stopped all 14 Falcons shots, while freshman Jackson Reda (Orland Park, Ill.) went 7-7 in the first period of his Falcons debut. He would go on to make 39 saves in his first start in a Concordia uniform.

The two squads combined for six goals in the middle frame, which saw the Cougars jump out to a 2-0 lead on goals 60 seconds apart.

Not to be outdone, Emme notched two power-play goals for the Falcons with 1:44 of separation, quickly evening the game. He would go on to light the lamp just 20 seconds later, once again on the man advantage, to snag a natural hat trick.

However, the scoring did not conclude with the three-goal feat, as Emme tallied his team-leading 36th goal of the season with 4:01 remaining in the second period. The assists were recorded by seniors Rex Staudacher (Yorkville, Ill.) and Ian Malcolmson (Waukesha, Wis.), the latter of which picked up his third helper of the contest.

The Cougars cut the deficit in half early in the third period, collecting a power play goal just 29 seconds in. The goal sparked a scoring run for Sault, which found itself leading 5-4 later in the third.

Staudacher notched the equalizer for Concordia off of a feed from senior John Swiatek (Rochester, N.Y.) to knot the score at five, ultimately forcing overtime.

The extra five minutes proved to be unsuccessful in declaring a winner, as both Sault and Concordia killed critical penalties down the stretch. The Cougars would go on to claim the game in a shootout.

Concordia will get a second crack at the Cougars on Saturday, January 27 at the Ozaukee Ice Center. The contest will mark the fourth meeting of the season between the two programs, with the Falcons leading the series 2-0-1.