Green Knights Secure Overtime Win Over Men’s Hockey

DE PERE, Wis – On Saturday, the CUW men's ice hockey team fell Saturday at the hands of the Green Knights of St. Norbert College, a team that garnered votes in the latest United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) polls, 4-3 in overtime. 

The Falcons now sit at 7-11-0 on the year and 4-5-0 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA). 

St. Norbert took an early lead, lighting the lamp with 8:35 remaining in the first period, securing a 1-0 advantage after the initial period of play. 

The Green Knight's offensive success continued in the second period, as St. Norbert scored with 19:05 and 14:50 left in the period to secure the 3-0 lead.

However, with 11:26 remaining in the second, the Falcons capitalized on a two-on-one break, as freshman Alex Ochitwa (Prince George, B.C.) connected with fellow freshman Riley Klugerman (Aurora, Ont.) up the ice on the left side. Quickly approaching the net, Klugerman fed Ochitwa a sharp pass across the ice, resulting in Ochitwa finding the back of the net on the one-timer to cut St. Norbert's lead to 3-1.  

The score would remain 3-1 after 40 minutes of play. 

The Falcons carried their momentum into the final period, as they scored the first goal of the third period, with 12:58 remaining as sophomore Dain Sardelli (Hebron, N.D.) put in the goal off a rebound from a shot off the stick from Alex Ochitwa, who received the feed pass from sophomore Bryar Dittmer (Chatham, Ont.). 

CUW's scoring continued in the third, as the Blue and White notched their third-straight unanswered goal with 9:05 left in the game. CUW junior defenseman Seth Bergeron (Minneapolis, Minn.) initiated the scoring opportunity as he stole the puck from St. Norbert and then quickly found sophomore Collin Kerchoff (White Lake, Mich.) down the right side of the ice. With the puck on his stick, Kerchoff ripped a shot past the goaltender to knot the game up at 3-3 and force overtime. 

In three-on-three overtime play, the opening minutes saw neither able to score. But, with 3:19 left, the Green Knights found the back of the net to take the 4-3 win. 

Looking to bounce back, the Falcons aim to return to the win column as they host the St. Norbert Green Knights tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. from the Ozaukee Ice Center.