Women's Hockey holds on for NCHA win over St. Norbert

MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Women's Hockey team found itself in familiar territory Saturday afternoon. Much like Friday night, the Falcons held a two-goal lead over St. Norbert College. This time, however, CUW would hold on to its lead, skating to a 2-1 victory over the Green Knights in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association action at the Ozaukee Ice Center.

Freshman Brittany Sticha (Lonsdale, Minn.) and sophomore Jenna Brown (Roseville, Minn.) each scored goals for CUW, while junior goalkeeper Jennifer DeGeorge (Waukesha, Wis.) made 28 saves to get them the two points in the NCHA standings. It was the Falcons first win over SNC since December 4, 2010, which also marked the only other time in program history CUW has defeated the Green Knights.

The two teams played 29:08 before fans saw a goal on Saturday as Sticha put the Falcons on top 1-0 with a power play score. Her goal came at the 9:02 mark of the second period and was assisted by sophomore Chelsea Regan (Oakdale, Minn.) and freshman Brandi Muller (Anchorage, Alaska). Sticha's score went on the score sheet as a 5-on-4 goal, but SNC had one of two penalties end just as she scored, as CUW played over a minute in the second period with a 5-on-3 advantage.

The 1-0 lead would remain for CUW until early in the third period when Brown put the Falcons up two with her first goal of the season. Freshman Veronika Metanova (Palatine, Ill.) and sophomore Alexis Machuga (Rochester Hills, Mich.) had assists on the Brown goal, which would go down as the game winner.

St. Norbert made the score 2-1 at the 9:34 mark of the third stanza when Henriette Ostergaard scored a power play goal. Fortunately for the Falcons, DeGeorge and the defense would remain strong over the final 10-plus minutes of play, allowing CUW to gain the 2-1 win.

SNC held a 29-20 edge in shots, but that came after the Falcons were outshot 12-2 in the first period. CUW had 10 shots in the second stanza, and seven over the final 20 minutes of play. Kaley Gibson recorded 18 saves for the Green Knights.

CUW will have off for the rest of 2013 as they return to action when the calendar turns to 2014. The Falcons will host St. Benedict in a pair of non-conference games on January 3-4, with the opener taking place at 7 p.m.