Men's Hockey Falls to Hamline in Overtime

Written by CUW Student Assistant Lance Schulteis

MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW men's ice hockey team fell in overtime to Hamline after the Pipers evened the score in the final minutes of play. The two squads split the back-to-back series to open the 2023-24 season.

The Falcons came out of the gate strong to begin the first period, potting two goals past Hamline goalie Trevor Wong. Freshman Riley Klugerman (Aurora, Ont.) picked up the first goal at 04:52, and sophomore Collin Kerchoff (White Lake, Mich.) picked up his first goal of the year to double the lead at 15:11 off of an assist from freshman Matt Koepke (Vernon Hills, Ill.).

As the first period belonged to Concordia, the second belonged to Hamline. The two-goal span for the Falcons was responded to with a three-goal outburst from the Pipers, who saw goals from Carson Simon, Bronson Adams, and Bailey Sommers.

The third period saw goals scored in bunches yet again, this time for Concordia, as sophomore Derek Humphreys (Spokane, Wash.) and freshman Sawyer Wirsing (Arundel, Maine) scored just minutes apart to flip the one-goal deficit back on the Pipers. Humphreys continued his strong start to the season, having scored two goals in Friday night's affair. His three goals to begin the season surpassed his total of two from last season in just a fraction of the games.

As the clock wound down, the Pipers grew increasingly desperate for the tying goal, and would eventually grab it. Sophomore goaltender Gabe Rosek (East Lansing, Mich.) was able to collect seven saves in the previous six minutes for Concordia, and the Falcons were also able to kill a power play in the moments before the goal. However, the final push from Hamline proved to be too much, as Brandon McNamara rifled a shot past Rosek's blocker to even the score.

The 3-on-3 overtime period saw Concordia set up a pair of threats in the offensive zone, but a turnover granted the Pipers an opportunity that they would capitalize on. After having a faceoff forced in their defensive zone, the Falcons would initially gain possession before the Pipers took it back. On the ensuing rush, McNamara stormed up the ice and danced past the Concordia defense, and an A.J. Carls pass across the slot found Kyle Mortenson, who would bury the puck into the net to secure the comeback victory for Hamline.

Sophomore Dain Sardelli (Hebron, N.D.), Roitman, and Humphreys led the Falcons with three shots on goal each.

Concordia will look to get back above .500 in its next set of games against the Aurora Spartans, beginning on Thursday, November 2.