Men's Hockey downs Finlandia for third straight win

MEQUON, Wis. – Junior goaltender Domingo Torrenueva made 28 saves as he helped lead the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team to a 4-1 win over Finlandia University Friday night. The victory at the Ozaukee Ice Center was the third straight for the Falcons and fourth in their last five.

Torrenueva (Oshawa, Ontario) was outstanding in his second start of the season, stopping all but one shot he faced. The lone Finlandia goal was scored with one second remaining on a Lions power play.

Freshmen Anthony Pickering and Braden Crone and sophomore Cody Dixon (pictured) each scored a goal and added an assist to pace the Falcons scoring Friday night. Pickering (Sylvan Lake, Alberta) has been on fire as of late, recording a point in seven straight games. He is one game shy of tying the Falcons program record, which was set by Devin Stuermer (Milwaukee, Wis.) a season ago.

It took a while for both teams to get going as some sloppy play took part in the early goings. The Falcons managed to erase the early struggles, scoring 13:54 into play on a goal from junior Chris Hughes (Dundee, Mich.). Stuermer and junior Trammell Lynes (Edmonton, Alberta) assisted on the score with gave the Falcons a 1-0 edge.

It took just 1:50 into the second period for CUW to build its lead to 2-0 as Dixon (Hales Corners, Wis.) netted his second goal of the season. Crone and Pickering each recorded helpers on the Dixon score.

Justin Scott of Finlandia cut the Falcons lead to one at the 4:35 mark of the second period. It appeared CUW was about to kill off a long power play, one that saw Finlandia have a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:38, but Lions scored with one second remaining on the second penalty to make the score 2-1.

The Falcons would go back up two before the second intermission as Pickering lit the lamp for the seventh time this season, tied for the team lead with Hughes. His goal, scored at the 14:07 mark of the second, was assisted by freshman Brody Decker (Dousman, Wis.). Crone would put the finishing touches on the Lions in the third with a goal assisted by freshman Jared Pilet (Seattle, Wash.) and Dixon.

Despite being one second away from finishing the game 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, the CUW shorthanded unit was strong on Friday night. The Falcons power play went scoreless on two attempts as the two teams combined for just 16 penalty minutes.

Torrenueva had double-digit saves in two of three periods, including stopping all 10 shots he faced in the first to preserve the 1-0 lead. He then recorded 12 saves in the second before stopping all six shots in the third period. His counterpart, Andrew Brownlee, made 31 saves and also assisted on the lone Finlandia goal.

CUW (4-7-0, 1-6-0 NCHA) will return to action tomorrow as it concludes the series against the Lions. CUW and Finlandia will face off at 4 p.m. at the Ozaukee Ice Center.