No. 4 Adrian pulls away from Men's Hockey in physical NCHA battle

MEQUON, Wis. – Entering the week, the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team and Adrian College were two of the most penalized teams in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. Saturday's matchup certainly had the two teams live up to that billing as they combined for 73 penalty minutes in a game Adrian pulled away from CUW for a 6-2 win.

Three players exited Saturday's contest with disqualifications as 71 of the 73 penalty minutes occurred over the final two periods. The Falcons were whistled eight times for a total of 49 minutes, while the Bulldogs racked up 24 minutes of penalties over five infractions.

What all that resulted in was five power play goals between the two squads, three for Adrian and two for the Falcons. For the second straight night the Bulldogs outscored CUW 3-0 in the third period, this time pulling away for the four-goal win.

It was a day for the Falcons freshmen class as they combined for the team's six points. Anthony Pickering (Sylvan Lake, Alberta) and Braden Crone (Metiskow, Alberta) each assisted on both CUW goals, the first scored by Jared Pilet (Seattle, Wash.) and the second off the stick of Brody Decker (Dousman, Wis.).

For the second straight game CUW held a slight edge in shots, finishing with 37 compared to the Bulldogs 36. Adrian did use a 10-shot advantage (18-8) in the third period, while their goaltender Scott Shackell finished the afternoon with 35 saves, picking up his fourth win of the year.

The first period saw AC jump out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Austin Rust. The Falcons would answer and tie the score before the first intermission as Pilet scored his first career goal on the first CUW power play of the day.

Two Adrian power play goals put them up 3-1 midway through the second, but Decker scored with just 1:38 remaining in the stanza to make the score 3-2 after 40 minutes of action. That's where things took a turn for the worse for CUW, with Adrian gaining the 6-2 win.

Sophomore Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) finished the game with 30 saves for the Falcons. Hebda had 15 saves in the third period.

The game also served as the "Pink in the Rink" event for the CUW Hockey programs. The Falcons Men's and Women's teams partnered with Angel on my Shoulder to help the fight against breast cancer. CUW wore pink jerseys for the game, which were auctioned off to help donate money towards the organization. 

CUW (0-6-0, 0-6-0, NCHA) will look for win number one on Wednesday night when they welcome Aurora University to the Ozaukee Ice Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Fans interested in learning more about Angel on my Shoulder can visit the website by clicking here. Also some of the game-worn pink jerseys are available for sale. All proceeds from the jeresey sales goes towards Angel on my Shoulder.