2022-23 Moments of the Year (No. 10): CUW Hockey Sweeps Marian on Mental Health Awareness Weekend
MEQUON, Wis. – The 2022-23 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 few days, with stories being released on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The top story will be released on August 4.
Nov. 18 and 19, during the inaugural Mental Health Awareness Weekend, all three Concordia Wisconsin hockey programs took convincing wins over Marian University, earning the weekend sweep.
On November 18, the ACHA men's hockey team kicked off the inaugural weekend with a 4-3 win over then No. 9 Marian.
With the game knotted 2-2 heading into the third period, the Falcons retook the lead with a goal courtesy of sophomore Tommy Cassel (Grafton, Wis.) off an assistant from senior Rex Staudacher (Yorkville, Ill.) and Easton Williams (Racine, Wis.). Minutes later, senior Sam Weiss (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) scored the Blue and White's final goal and secured the 4-3 win.
Later in the night, CUW's women's hockey team picked up where the ACHA team left off when they took the 7-2 win over the Sabres.
The Falcons started the scoring in the first period when sophomore Amanda Bauer (Waunakee, Wis.) found freshman Makayla Spejcher (Green Bay, Wis.) for her first goal of the night. The Falcons struck again later in the first period, as senior Ali Eiden (Rosemount, Minn.) found the back of the net, giving CUW the 2-0 lead following the first period.
In the second period, Makayla Spejcher scored her second goal off a rebound from a shot from sophomore Brooke Gibson (Lasalle, Ont.), extending the Falcon's lead to 3-0.
The Falcons broke the game open in the third period, scoring four goals.
Senior Bela Noyle (Baltimore, Md.) started the scoring frenzy nearly three minutes into the period as her shot took a fortunate bounce finding the back of the net. A minute later, Makayla Spejcher completed the hat trick with passes from Amanda Bauer and senior Emily Reimche (Billings, Mont.).
Two minutes later, Freshman Charlotte Toor (Hartland, Mich.) scored her first collegiate goal with a tight-angle shot off a pass from fellow freshman Hailey Calliguri (Lonsdale, Minn.).
With four minutes remaining in the period, Makayla Spejcher scored her fourth and the Falcon's final goal of the night. With that goal, Spejcher etched her name into CUW women's hockey record book as she tied the program record for goals in a single game with Ally Hull (2021, Lawrence), Kristen Kennedy (2016, at Finlandia), and Natasha Wanless (2018, Trine).
On the defensive end of the ice, senior Annalina Van Hercke (Castle Rock, Colo.) recorded 27 saves in the 7-2 win.
Day two of the Mental Health Awareness Weekend saw the NCAA men's hockey team complete the weekend sweep over Marian as they secured the 4-0 win.
Following a scoreless first period, the Falcons struck first in the second minute of the second period with a goal from freshman Nick Maksymiu (Chicago, Ill.) off a pass from Collin Kerchoff (White Lake, Mich.).
Later in the period, the Falcons added to their lead with a goal off the stick from junior Nick Bowlin (Maplewood, Minn.), as Collin Kerchoff recorded his second assist of the night.
CUW continued their excellent performance in the third period as freshman Jason Tenezaca (Niles, Ill.) slid one past the net to extend their lead to 3-0.
The Falcon's final goal came courtesy of freshman Parker Williams (West Bloomfield, Mich.) off assists from freshmen Ben Pizzimenti (Iowa City, Iowa) and Nathan Gilleshammer (Crystal Lake, N.D.).
Freshman Gabe Rosek (East Lansing, Mich.) recorded 52 saves in his shutout performance.
With the win, Falcons hockey completed the sweep over the Sabres of Marian University.
2022-23 CUW Athletics Stories of the Year
No. 10: Falcons Hockey Sweeps Marian on Mental Awareness Weekend
No. 9: July 31
No. 8: August 1
No. 7: August 1
No. 6: August 2
No. 5: August 2
No. 4: August 3
No. 3: August 3
No. 2: August 4
No. 1: August 4
