Falcons Triumph Over the Tommies

MEQUON, Wis. – The Falcons faced St. Thomas in the CUW ACHA Showcase finale on Sunday afternoon in a battle of two of the top teams in the region. The Falcons reigned supreme with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory to close the showcase. The Falcons improve to 4-2-0 on the year and the Tommies fall to 3-2-0 after the weekend in Wisconsin.

The Tommies wasted no time in scoring on Sunday with a goal eight seconds into the contest.

The Purple and White held a majority of the possession to start off Sunday afternoon. The Falcons showed a spark with a five-on-three power play late in the period.

The Falcons took advantage of the power play and senior Rex Staudacher (Yorkville, Ill.) scored from the slot off passes from senior Garrett Wilderman (Waukesha, Wis.) and sophomore Jaxon Hill (Bismarck, N.D.).

The Tommies reclaimed the lead with a power-play goal on a deflection with 15:56 left in the second period.

The Falcons tied the game on the power play when freshman Rocco Cicirello (Mequon, Wis.) deflected in a shot from Garrett Wilderman and a secondary assist to senior Andrew Malek (Milwaukee, Wis.).

The teams headed into the third period tied at two.

Junior Austin Bartell (New Berlin, Wis.) made a spectacular save on the St. Thomas power play to keep the game tied.

The tie was broken on a five-on-three power play for St. Thomas with 8:35 remaining.

Senior Nick Roberts again tied the game for Concordia with a goal at 2:13 after he stole the puck back.

St. Thomas started overtime with possession but the Falcons took it back before it was stolen back and Austin Bartell made another spectacular save.

The Falcons had one last chance and freshman Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) scored in the final nine seconds off assists from Rocco Cicirello and Tommy Cassel (Grafton, Wis.) to secure the victory.

St. Thomas held a 47-25 advantage in shots on Sunday.

Austin Bartell finished the game with 44 saves.

Concordia Wisconsin finished the showcase at 2-1-0 with St. Thomas and Liberty. Indiana went 0-3-0 on the weekend. 

The Falcons return to conference play on Tuesday night at MSOE.