Late St. Norbert goals spoil Men's Hockey upset bid

MEQUON, Wis. – For 56 minutes the Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team skated with, and often times past, the No. 1 ranked St. Norbert College Green Knights. Unfortunately, SNC would do what top-ranked teams do, find a way to win, scoring twice over the final three minutes and holding on for a 4-2 win over the Falcons at the Ozaukee Ice Center.

Mason Baptista scored at the 17:11 mark of the third period and Pijus Rulevicius added a goal 28 seconds later, giving St. Norbert two late goals and spoiling the Falcons upset attempt. The Green Knights finally figured out Falcons goaltender Dylan Frank in the third period, as he was outstanding in stopping several shots before that point, keeping his team tied.

Frank (Truro, Nova Scotia) didn't start Saturday, but was rushed into duty after starting goaltender Domingo Torrenueva had to leave due to an injury. All Frank did was stop 27 shots in 49:08 of action against one of the top-scoring teams in all of Division III hockey.

The Falcons got on the board first Saturday night as freshman Anthony Pickering (Sylvan Lake, Alberta) continued his impressive rookie season with a power play goal 7:21 into play. Pickering deflected a shot by sophomore Cody Dixon (Hales Corners, Wis.), beating SNC goalie David Jacobson for the 1-0 lead. Freshman Jared Pilet (Seattle, Wash.) added an assist on the game's first score.

The CUW lead wouldn't last long as St. Norbert answered 21 seconds later on Michael Hill's first of two goals. Hill's score was assisted by Kyle Lee and George Malliaras and would be the final goal of the opening 20 minutes.

SNC took a 2-1 lead just 18 seconds into the second period as Hill scored his second goal of the night. Ross Pavek and Lee were the assist men on that score. It would appear the top-ranked Green Knights would hold a one-goal lead going into the third but the Falcons Chris Hughes (Dundee, Mich.) had other ideas. He netted his ninth goal of the year with 1:34 left in the second, tying the game at 2-2. Sophomores Tanner Bull (Brooklin, Ontario) and Brandt Weldon (The Pas, Manitoba) assisted on Hughes' goal.

That would be all the scoring until deep in the third period when the Green Knights struck. The Falcons did receiver a power play chance with 1:32 to go in the game and opted to pull Frank at the point, but despite some good chances they could not get one past Jacobson, making the final 4-2.

Jacobson finished the game with 29 saves as SNC held a 37-31 edge in shots. Both team's penalty kills excelled on Saturday, the Falcons killing off all four of St. Norbert's chances with a man-up. CUW converted on its first power play chance of the game, but couldn't find the back of the net on the next six opportunities as the Green Knights penalty kill tightened up the rest of the way.

The Falcons will be back in action next weekend for a home-and-home series against Lake Forest College. The opening game will be in Lake Forest on Friday night at 7 p.m.