Top line leads Men's Hockey to comeback win over Aurora

MEQUON, Wis. – Connor Hogg, Braden Crone and Stefen Seel seem to like playing alongside each other. The Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey top line was at it once again Saturday, producing four goals in a 5-3 comeback win over Aurora in NCHA action at the Ozaukee Ice Center.

THE BASICS
- Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 5, Aurora 3
- Location: Ozaukee Ice Center – Mequon, Wis.
- Records: Concordia Wisconsin 8-3-1, 5-2-1 NCHA; Aurora 1-8-1, 1-4-1 NCHA

HOW IT HAPPENED

- The Falcons built a 2-1 lead after the first period thanks to goals from Hogg (London, Ontario) and Crone (Metiskow, Alberta). Hogg scored to tie the game at 1-1 at the 12:39 mark of the opening perid, with Crone and Seel (Invermere, British Columbia) picking up assists on the play. Seel also assisted on the Crone goal, giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead with just under three minutes to play in the first.

- Aurora had the game's first goal, a power play score from Rihards Marenis just 2:09 into play.

- The Spartans would score the only two goals of the second period, taking a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Tim Santopoalo scored a power play goal with 21 seconds remaining in the frame to give Aurora a 3-2 advantage.

- The final 20 minutes was all Falcons as CUW ripped off 25 shots, scoring three times for the 5-3 win. Hogg tied the game 4:02 into the final stanza, with assists going to junior Cody Dixon (Hales Corners, Wis.) and senior Trammell Lynes (Edmonton, Alberta).

- Sophomore Anthony Pickering (Sylvan Lake, Alberta) gave the Falcons a 4-3 with the game-winning score at the 10:22 mark of the period. Lynes picked up an assist on that play as well.

- The final goal came with six minutes to go in regulation as Crone tallied his second of the night. Senior Eli Riddle (Blissfield, Mich.) and junior David Haaf (Medicine Hat, Alberta) assisted on the game's final goal.

- Freshman Andy Munroe (Newmarket, Ontario) picked up his fourth win of the season as he made 25 saves for the Falcons. CUW outshot Aurora 43-28, including 25-8 over the final 20 minutes of action.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

- The trio of Seel, Hogg and Crone has been unbelievable in the first half of the season for the Falcons. They have combined for 17 goals and 22 assists in three games with Seel leading the way with 15 points. The 39 points is 36.4 percent of the team's point total this season and the 17 goals are 44.7 percent of the Falcons goal total.

- CUW now has eight wins, which is the second most in program history. This Falcons team needs just three wins over the second half to set the program mark, which was 10 from the 2013-14 season.

- Pink the Rink was once again a success for the Falcons. The event, partnering CUW with Angel on my Shoulder, helped raise money in the fight against cancer.

UP NEXT

- CUW will have over a month off until it returns to the ice for game action. The Falcons will take on Lawrence in a home-and-home series January 8-9. The opening game will be at Lawrence with a 7 p.m. start time.