Lions Leap Past Falcons in Overtime

HANCOCK, Mich. – The Falcons hit a minor road bump on Friday afternoon at Finlandia. The Falcons picked up a big point in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association with a 3-4 overtime loss.

The Lions struck first with a breakaway in the first period at 5:30 into the contest.

Six seconds later, The Falcons tied the game on a two-on-one advantage when sophomore Andrew Malek (Milwaukee, Wis.) lit the lamp off assists from freshman Ben Pizzimenti (Iowa City, Iowa) and freshman Jaron Ketterman (Palmer, Alaska).

CUW took the lead 17 seconds later when Ben Pizzimenti knocked in a rebound from freshman Noah Roitman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.).

The Falcons added to the lead when freshman Derek Humpherys (Spokane, Wash.) blasted the puck into the back of the net from the point to start the scoring in the second period off assists from freshman Bryar Dittmer (Chatman, Ont.) and freshman Collin Kerchoff (White Lake, Mich.).

Finlandia tied the game with a power-play goal in the second period and another goal in the third period.

The Lions scored eight seconds into overtime to secure the victory.

Freshman Gabe Rosek (East Lansing, Mich.) recorded 24 saves on the afternoon.

Finlandia held a 28-22 advantage in shots on Friday.

Freshman Grant Newcomer (McFarland, Wis.) led the Concordia attack with four shots in the loss.

Good news came from Indiana, where Trine defeated Lawrence, 3-0, the loss for the Vikings puts Concordia up one point in the NCHA standings for the final spot in the Harris Cup Playoffs. If CUW wins or takes the extra point in overtime on Saturday, it will qualify for the NCHA Playoffs. CUW also advances with a Lawrence loss or overtime loss.