(Chelsea, MI) – The Cardinals hosted the Toledo Rockets on Saturday evening in a rematch of their contest the night before, this time facing off at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea. The game went back-and-forth, resulting in the game being tied up on four seperate occasions and including three lead changes throughout the matchup. Eventually, the Cardinals would come out victorious, 5-4, behind a Tyler Groth goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.
The first period consisted consisted of a defensive battle, with the Rockets outshooting Concordia 14-12 in the opening frame, but neither side able to put anything past the goaltenders.
CUAA came out flying in the second period, however, as Brayden Tayles fired home a shorthanded goal, assisted by Brandon Troyer, just 1:26 into the middle frame. After a Toledo goal that knotted the game at 1, the Cardinals would strike back. Thomas Hendry intercepted a loose puck near the blue line, skated into open space, and sniped a shot off the right post into the net to give Concordia the lead back.
The period continued with a high pace of action, the Cardinals peppering the Toledo net with 23 shots during the 20 minutes of play. The Rockets would pick up a goal on an odd man rush with 2:41 remaining in the frame, but CUAA was not done scoring yet. With 1:04 remaining, Benjamin Jones fired a low shot towards the net, and Kyle Hebner redirected the puck five hole to give the Cards a 3-2 lead headed into the intermission.
The Rockets pushed back in the third, however. Following a Concordia penalty at 13:53, Toledo found an open man backdoor for a powerplay goal just 11 seconds into the man advantage, tying the contest at three. UT was not done scoring, as they picked up a 4th goal to take their first lead of the game at the 10:00 mark of the period.
Concordia responded to the pressure, as Tyler Bieniek sniped a goal from a tight angle less than three minutes later to tie the game back up at 4. Brayden Tayles and Quinn Bieniek picked up assists on the game tying goal.
After a Toledo penalty with 3:46 to go in regulation, the Cardinals looked to attack on the powerplay. Tyler Groth did just that, firing home a beautiful slapshot from the point into the top right corner of the net with 2:55 left in the game, giving CUAA the lead back late. Brayden Tayles and Quinn Bieniek would once again pick up assists on the Cardinal goal.
The game included more action, including a hit post on an empty net attempt by the Cardinals, but the score would remain the same, clinching a Concordia victory as time ran out. Stephen Ward-Brown started the game in net for CUAA, making 31 saves, including countless key ones, in the Cardinal win.
The Cardinals will be back in action next Friday as they head to Howell, MI to face off against Cleary in their first WHAC matchup of the season. Puck drop is set for 6:30pm at the 140 Ice Den.
