Falcons Fight in a Friday Night Frenzy

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Friday night gave us one of the wildest rollercoaster contests of the season. In a game where special teams accounted for eight goals, the Raiders of MSOE held on to a 6-5 victory to secure a spot in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Harris Cup Playoffs.

The first period finished with neither team recording a goal or penalty. The Raiders held a 7-6 advantage in shots after 20 minutes.

The two teams kept the penalty box attendants company in the second period.

The Raiders were able to take advantage of the power play and strike first on Friday night.

The Red and White were given a second goal of the night when the puck that was covered up allegedly crossed the line for a shorthanded goal.

The Falcons fought back with a deflection from freshman Sawyer Wirsing (Arundel, Maine) off a shot from freshman Matt Koepke (Vernon Hills, Ill.) after he stole the puck back for the Falcons.

MSOE scored with a backdoor goal 24 seconds later to push the lead up to 3-1.

The Raiders took advantage of the power play again with a goal with 4:44 left in the second period.

The Raiders opened the scoring in the third period with an empty net goal at the 10:23 mark of the third period.

Sophomore Dain Sardelli (Hebron, N.D.) cut into the deficit at the 10:46 mark of the third period with a power-play goal from the near circle off assists from sophomore Derek Humphreys (Spokane, Wash.) and freshman Riley Klugerman (Aurora, Ont.) on a five-on-three advantage

The lamp was lit 35 seconds later when the Falcons scored on a scrum in front of the net off the stick of senior Joey Petronack (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and assists to Sawyer Wirsing and sophomore Grant Newcomer (McFarland, Wis.).

The Raiders scored again on the empty net at the 16:40 mark of the period.

The Falcons scored on the six-on-three advantage with a goal from freshman Alex Ochitwa (Prince George, B.C.) off a rebound off a Grant Newcomer shot after the original pass from freshman Logan Kroyman (Deerfield Beach, Fla.).

The Blue and White had some quality chances in the final minutes, but could not get to the back of the net.

The Falcons drew to within a goal with a shot from Derek Humphreys scored on a rebound of a blocked shot from Logan Kroyman and an original pass from Alex Ochitwa with 13 seconds remaining.

The Raiders secured the victory with a faceoff victory that sent the puck down the ice and did not allow the Falcons to get a clean last opportunity at the net.

The Falcons finished with a 51-26 advantage in shots on Friday.

Sophomore Gabe Rosek (East Lansing, Mich.) recorded 20 saves in the contest.

Grant Newcomer and Logan Kroyman both had seven shots in the game.

The Falcons won 38 of the 73 faceoffs on Friday with Derek Humphreys leading the way with 14.

The four power-play goals are a season-high and the most since a five-power-play goal performance on Feb. 20, 2021, against Aurora.

With tonight's results, MSOE secured the fifth seed in the Harris Cup Playoffs. The Falcons still need only one point to secure a playoff spot. They could also advance if either Lake Forest or Marian loses on Saturday. Lake Forest upset Aurora on Friday, 6-2, and Lawrence defeated Marian, 3-1. Adrian is the top seed and Aurora will host MSOE as the No. 4 seed. 

The Falcons will also have to beat MSOE on Saturday to force a shootout to try to take back the Lake Michigan Cup on Senior Night in the Ozaukee Ice Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 between the two teams.

Concordia has won its last four home regular season finales and the last time a trophy was on the line in the home finale, the Falcons upset No. 9 Lake Forest on Feb. 15, 2020. The 3-2 victory spoiled the Foresters' chance for the NCHA Peters Cup and a shootout win took back the Border Battle Cup.