Men's Hockey plays to 5-5 tie against No. 14 St. Scholastica

MEQUON, Wis. – In a thrilling back and forth contest at the Ozaukee Ice Center, the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team played to a 5-5 tie against the 14th-ranked College of St. Scholastica Friday night.

The Falcons erased a 3-1 deficit with three consecutive goals in the second period to take a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes of play. CSS then answered with two goals within 24 seconds of one another in the third period, building a 5-4 lead before captain Buster Heber (Firestone, Colo. – sophomore) tied the game with 7:40 to play in regulation. Both teams had a power play opportunity down the stretch, but both goaltenders finished strong, resulting in the 5-5 tie.

CSS came out strong with two goals within the first 10:53 of play to take a 2-0 lead. Dylan Nowakowski scored the opening goal, while Chad Golanowski followed with a power play score at the 10:53 mark of the opening period. The Falcons cut the Saints lead to 2-1 when freshman Dylan Hutton (Ajax, Ontario) scored off assists from sophomore Chris Hughes (Dundee, Mich.) and Hebda. Hutton's score came with 5:06 remaining in the opening stanza.

The Saints pushed the lead back to two 1:41 into the second period as Brandon Nowakowski sent one in with a man advantage. Paul Marcoux and Dylan Nowakowski assisted on the goal which gave CSS a 3-1 advantage.

The rest of the second period would be all Falcons as they scored three times, taking a 4-3 lead into the second intermission. Freshman Brett Penner (Medstead, Saskatchewan) made the score 3-2 3:07 into the second period, scoring off a pass from senior Brandon Bayer (Milwaukee, Wis.). Hughes then tallied the equalizer at the 13:10 mark of period number two off assists from Hutton and Hebda. Sophomore Devin Stuermer (Milwaukee, Wis.) gave the Falcons the lead 2:09 later, scoring unassisted.

After eight-plus minutes of scoreless play in the third period the Saints quickly heated up and scored twice 24 seconds apart to retake the lead, 5-4. Dylan Nowakowski scored the goal to even things at 4-4, while Alex Valenti put CSS back in the lead at the 8:50 mark of the third stanza. That lead held until Hebda recorded his power play goal of Hutton and Hughes assists.

The Saints got an opportunity to try and finish things in regulation as they received a power play opportunity with 1:55 remaining in the contest. CUW's shorthanded unit played strong, killing off the penalty and keeping the score, 5-5. The Falcons had a power play chance over the final 34 seconds of overtime.

Sophomore Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) and Colin Rundell went down as the goalies of record in the contest. Hebda finished the night with 40 saves, while Rundell tallied 38 for the Saints.

These two teams will finish off the weekend series tomorrow at the Ozaukee Ice Center. Puck will drop at 3 p.m. and live video will be available courtesy of CUWFalcons.com.