Sabres Snag Round One

FOND DU LAC, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's hockey team opened the final weekend of the regular season on Friday night at Marian. The Sabres defended their home ice with a 3-0 victory. The Falcons' loss prevents them from securing a spot in the Harris Cup Playoffs on Friday. They move to 11-13-0 on the year and 6-11-0 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, and they are in eighth place with 17 points.

The Sabres held a 16-8 advantage in shots on Friday night in the first period.

The Falcons were able to fight off their lone penalty kill of the game.

CUW battled with the Sabres in the second period, but a buzzer-beating goal gave the Sabres a lead after 40 minutes.

The Black and Blue added to the lead at the 16:51 mark of the third period and scored again on the empty net.

Junior Gabe Rosek (East Lansing, Mich.) had 35 saves on the evening.

Marian held a 38-25 advantage in shots on Friday night.

Sophomore Logan Kroyman (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and freshman Connor Van Weelie (Mississauga, Ontario) led the offense with four shots each.

The Falcons can secure a spot in the NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs with a win on Saturday. The Falcons also hold a tiebreaker over Lake Forest, so if the Foresters do not pick up a point on Saturday, the Falcons are in. If Lawrence, Lake Forest, and Concordia Wisconsin all have 20 points, Lake Forest is eliminated. CUW could finish as high as the seventh seed.

Heading into the final day of conference play, Aurora clinched first place for the first time in program history, St. Norbert leads Trine by a point for second place, and Adrian locked up the No. 4 seed. MSOE also has 22 points to Marian's 21 and Lawrences'20. CUW and Lafe Forest are tied for eighth place and Dubuque is eliminated.  

Concordia Wisconsin will close the regular season on Saturday night at home against Marian. After the game, the senior class will be honored.