Lawrence pulls away from Men's Hockey in season-opening setback

APPLETON, Wis. – Lawrence University scored two goals in both the second and third periods, breaking a 2-2 tie after the opening stanza, to pull away from the Concordia University Men's Hockey team Friday night. The game played at the Appleton Ice Center was the season-opener for both teams and ended with a 6-2 win for the host Vikings, a reverse score of last year's Falcons 6-2 win in the season-opener at Lawrence.

The Falcons goals came from a pair of newcomers as freshman Anthony Pickering (Sylvan Lake, Alberta) and sophomore Cody Dixon (Hales Corners, Wis.) netted their first career scores in CUW uniforms. Pickering's goal gave CUW a 1-0 lead, while Dixon tied the score late in the first at 2-2.

Pickering's goal was scored on the power play as CUW finished the evening 1-for-4 with the man advantage. The Falcons had troubles staying out of the penalty box, being whistled 12 times for 32 penalty minutes. LU capitalized on two power play chances, finishing the night 2-for-6.

Two Lawrence goals scored six seconds apart from one another in the second period proved to be the difference in the game. Renato Engler scored 4:02 in the second period for what resulted in the game-winner, while Matt Moore added a goal six seconds later, giving the Vikings a 4-2 lead early in the second period.

Lawrence would go on to add two more goals in the third, resulting in the 6-2 final. Engler led the Vikings with a goal and three assists, while Blake Roubos scored once and assisted on two others.

Freshman Braden Crone (Metiskow, Alberta) recorded his first career collegiate point for the Falcons as he assisted on the Pickering goal scored 8:36 into play. CUW finished with a 42-27 edge in shots, but Lawrence goaltender Mattias Soderqvist ended the night with 40 saves, including 24 over the final two periods.

Sophomore Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) got the start between the pipes for CUW and was the goalie of record, finishing with eight saves in 24:08. Junior Domingo Torrenueva (Oshawa, Ontario) played the final 35:52 and finished with 13 saves.

CUW (0-1-0, 0-1-0 NCHA) will look to rebound tomorrow night when they host the Vikings at the Ozaukee Ice Center. The home-opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start with live stats and video being provided courtesy of CUWFalcons.com.