Four-goal first helps Men's Hockey take opener in Thanksgiving Cup Series

BLAINE, Minn. – A four-goal first period, followed by two more in the second, allowed the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team to defeat Bethel University in a high-scoring 6-4 non-conference affair Friday night. The win means the Falcons can clinch their fourth straight Thanksgiving Cup over the Royals with a win or tie tomorrow afternoon.

THE BASICS
- Final Score: Concordia Wisconsin 6, Bethel 4
- Location: Bethel University Arena – Blaine, Minnesota
- Records: Concordia Wisconsin 5-3-1; Bethel 1-7-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons came out strong Friday night, scoring two goals in the first six minutes to build a 2-0 lead. Freshman Mac Ferner (Vernon, British Columbia) score the first goal, coming off assists by senior David Haaf and sophomore Stefen Seel. Haaf (Medicine Hat, Alberta) would tally the second score with Seel (Invermere, British Columbia) also picking up an assist on that goal.

- Bethel tied the game up with the next two opening period goals, but CUW would take a two-goal lead into the first intermission thanks to a pair of scores in the final 2:30 of the opening stanza. Freshman Jim Pearson (Ashton, Ontario) netted his third score in the last two games, followed by a goal off the stick of sophomore Nicholas Erb (London, Ontario) a minute later. Sophomore Adam Fauchoux (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan) assisted on the Erb goal.

- CUW extended its lead in the second period on a pair of power play goals. Freshman Josh Adkins (Victoria, British Columbia) made the score 5-2 in favor of the Falcons, scoring 11:16 into the second. His power play goal was assisted by Erb and Fauchoux.

- Sophomore Connor Hogg (London, Ontario) then made the score 6-2 in favor of CUW with a power play goal with 3:51 remaining in the second. Seel picked up his third assist of the game on Hogg's score, while sophomore Jon Brumwell (Calgary, Alberta) also recorded an assist on the play.

- Bethel would score twice in the third period, including a second goal of the game for Dallas Marvin, who had a first-period power play goal for the Royals. The lead would stay at 6-4 for the Falcons, however, allowing them to pick up the opening game in the Thanksgiving Cup series.

- Sophomore Jack Romanuik (Melfort, Saskatchewan) won his fifth game of the season for the Falcons, making 28 saves. Romanuik also became the career wins leader in CUW history with his 12th career victory. He made 16 of his 28 stops in the third period, as the Falcons were outshot 18-2 over the final 20 minutes of play.

- CUW had the edge in special teams on Friday, scoring on 2-of-3 power plays. The Falcons penalty kill was also effective, killing off 5-of-6 power play chances for the Royals.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Falcons and Royals began the Thanksgiving Cup in the 2013-14 season and the series has been owned by CUW. The Falcons now have a 6-0-1 record against Bethel, including a 3-0 mark on the road. The six goals is tied for the most by CUW against the Royals, as they also scored six in a 6-5 win on November 28, 2014.

UP NEXT
- The Falcons and Royals will conclude the Thanksgiving Cup series tomorrow afternoon. Opening puck drop is set for 4 p.m.