2019-20 Stories of the Year (No. 4): ACHA Hockey has record-breaking season

MEQUON, Wis. -- The 2019-20 athletic year was another successful one for the Concordia Wisconsin Athletic Department. The Falcons won and contended for conference championships in many sports and put together an impressive list of great achievements. As in years past, the Department of Athletic Communications tries to sort through all the great moments and give you, the fans, top stories from the past year.

The list of stories was compiled by the Department of Athletic Communications and, like all lists, is subject to debate. The top stories will be revealed over the next four weeks, with a story being released on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The top story will be released on May 20.

No. 4 Story of the Year

ACHA Hockey has record-breaking season

The Concordia Wisconsin ACHA Hockey team had a record-breaking season in 2019-20 as they set the program wins record with 25, finished the season as the No. 14 ranked team in the central region, and were runners-up in the Hap Cup Tournament.

The Falcons season got off to an incredible start as they went undefeated through their first 12 games of the season with an 11-0-1 record.

On January 11th, the Falcons faced the Aurora Spartans, who finished the season ranked No. 7 in the central region. CUW entered the contest winless against Aurora in program history. Concordia Wisconsin trailed 4-3 with 1:34 remaining in regulation when Scott Gregor (Ashland, Wis.) found the net for the second time to tie it up at 4-4. The game went to overtime, and Trenton Sherman (Farmington, Minn.) scored the game-winner with 1:04 remaining to give the Falcons their first win over the Spartans in program history.

Concordia Wisconsin capitalized on the momentum from their victory over the Spartans and proceeded to win their final eight games of the regular season to carry themselves to the Hap Cup Tournament for the first time in program history.

The Cinderella-story season continued into the playoffs as the Falcons opened their first-ever postseason run with a 4-1 win over the DePaul Blue Demons.

Up next was a rematch with Aurora, in which the Falcons rallied to upset the Spartans once more in a 5-4 overtime victory on the strength of Wyatt Wilderman's (Waukesha, Wis.) hat trick. Down 4-2, the junior scored twice in the third period to tie the game before scoring the game-winner 2:42 into overtime to send the Falcons to the Hap Cup Championship.

Though the Falcons fell 4-3 in overtime of the championship game, their effort was incredible. Mack Willy (Tacoma, Wash.) saved an astounding 63 shots for CUW. The freshman goalie's performance was recognized by the conference, as Willy was named the NCHL Playoff MVP even with the Falcons falling in the finals. Willy, Wilderman, and Matt Gregor (Ashland, Wis.) were each named to the NCHL All-Tournament Team.

Concordia Wisconsin finished the season with a 25-5-1 (.823) record, going 9-4-1 (.679) in conference games, and outscored their opponents 160 to 74.

2019-20 CUW Athletics Stories of the Year
HM: Women's Basketball and Football break records
No. 10: Sam Otto of Men's Golf breaks 36-hole record
No. 9: Softball posts program-best start
No. 8: Dance wins CIT title
No. 7: Goucher and Curran shine at NACC Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship
No. 6: Men's Hockey upsets No. 9 Lake Forest on senior night
No. 5: Johnson, Jurss have a record-setting night
No. 4: ACHA has record-breaking season
No. 3: May 15
No. 2: May 18
No. 1: May 20