Men's Hockey suffers second straight one-goal defeat at No. 11 St. Scholastica
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Concordia Wisconsin (0-4-0, 0-4-0 NCHA) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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No. 11 College of St. Scholastica (4-0-0, 4-0-0 NCHA) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
DULUTH, Minn. – For the second straight evening the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team pushed No. 11 St. Scholastica for a full 60 minutes. Unfortunately for the Falcons, both efforts came up just a little short as the Saints were able to escape with another 4-3 victory at Mars Lakeview Arena.
On Saturday, CSS received two third-period goals from Dylan Nowakowski to help edge the Falcons. Nowakowski scored at the 7:57 mark to give his Saints a 3-2 lead, and added an empty-netter with 1:24 remaining, pushing the advantage to 4-2.
The Falcons would score with six seconds remaining in the game to make the final 4-3, as James Poston (Sylvania, Ohio) lit the lamp with an extra attacker. Junior Chris Hughes (Dundee, Mich.), who is off to a strong start in 2014, assisted on the Poston goal and played a part in all three scores Saturday, scoring once and adding two helpers.
It appeared early in the third period that the Falcons had taken the momentum away from the Saints, who built a 2-0 lead just 2:41 into the second. CUW answered the early Saints storm with a late second-period power play goal from Hughes, scored with just seven seconds left in the frame. CUW rode that momentum with another power play score 1:48 into the third off the stick of junior Devin Stuermer (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Three Falcons finished in the stat sheet on Saturday as Stuermer and Poston both tallied a goal and added an assist in addition to Hughes' three-point evening. Stuermer attempted a game-best seven shots as the Falcons held a 32-27 advantage in that statistical category.
The power play was also working for both teams, each capitalizing on two chances. The Falcons finished 2-for-5 with the man-advantage, while the Saints countered by converting 50 percent (2-for-4) of their chances. CUW has been brilliant on the power play this season, converting 30 percent (6-for-20) of its tries. Unfortunately for the Falcons, their opponents have also cashed in on 30 percent of their attempts.
Freshman Dylan Frank (Truro, Nova Scotia) received the start for the third straight game and stopped 23 shots. Corey Koop saw his first start of the season for the Saints and responded with 29 stops, 17 in the final stanza.
CUW (0-4-0, 0-4-0) will return to action next weekend by hosting No. 6 Adrian College for two at the Ozaukee Ice Center. Friday night is set for a 7 p.m. puck drop.
