Men's Hockey nets NCHA road win at Finlandia

HANCOCK, Mich. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team posted its best offensive effort of the season, scoring five goals in a NCHA road win at Finlandia University Friday night. The Falcons build a 3-0 lead early in the second and added two more, including an empty-netter for the 5-2 victory.

THE BASICS
- Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 5, Finlandia 2
- Location: Houghton County Arena – Hancock, Michigan
- Records: Concordia Wisconsin 2-2-1, 2-2-1 NCHA; Finlandia 0-5-0, 0-3-0 NCHA

HOW IT HAPPENED
- CUW struck twice in the opening period on goals from sophomore Adam Fauchoux (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) and junior Travis Marit (Assiniboia, Saskatchewan). Fauchoux put the Falcons up 1-0 just 6:25 into play on a score assisted by sophomores Nicholas Erb (London, Ontario) and Taylor Gauld (Whitby, Ontario).

- Marit then struck for his first goal of the season with 1:49 left in the opening stanza. Freshman Jake Switzer (Swansea, Ill.) and junior Brody Decker (Dousman, Wis.) assisted on the Marit score.

- CUW would extend its lead to 3-0 just 5:03 into the second on an unassisted score from sophomore Stefen Seel (Invermere, British Columbia). Seel totaled three points on the night, assisting on each of the Falcons final two scores. The Lions would cut into the CUW lead with the only other goal of the second period, scored by Thomas Clayton with 45 seconds left before the intermission.

- The Falcons answered the Lions score by striking 1:11 into the third and extending their lead back to three. It was freshman Jim Pearson (Ashton, Ontario) who lit the lamp for the first time in his collegiate career, coming off assists by Seel and Switzer.

- The Lions scored just 1:02 later as Max Seiter made the score 4-2, but the Falcons would hold on the two-goal lead before sophomore Connor Hogg (London, Ontario) scored an empty-netter with 28 seconds remaining. Seel tallied his second assist of the night on the Hogg goal.

- Sophomore Jack Romanuik (Melfort, Saskatchewan) made 23 saves for his second win of the season. Romanuik is now unbeaten in his last three starts, going 2-0-1 over that span. Alec Rounds finished the night with 25 saves for the Lions.

- Neither team converted on the power play Friday, with the two squads combining for just five chances. After no penalties in the opening period, the two combined for 19 minutes in the box on eight infractions. CUW was whistled three times for a total of nine penalty minutes.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Seel now has three career three-point games, two of those coming against Finlandia. The sophomore now has six points this season after posting 20 in his rookie campaign.

- Romanuik has already made his case as one of the better goalies in the history of the Falcons program. He now has nine wins in a little over a season of play, the third most victories for a netminder in CUW history. He is just two shy of tying the all-time mark, 11 wins by Domingo Torrenueva (2012-16).

UP NEXT
- The Falcons and Lions will conclude the two-game set tomorrow. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. eastern in Houghton.