(Fort Wayne, IN) After their completion of the regular season, the Concordia men's hockey program will advance to the WHAC Conference Tournament for the third season in a row in their short history. Last season the Cardinals earned the #6 seed and faced #3 Aquinas, ultimately falling 8-0. This year the Cardinals finished with a 3-4 conference record in the shortened season, securing the #3 seed and are set for a rematch of last year's playoff game against #2 Aquinas this Saturday.
Game Information
#3 Concordia vs. #2 Aquinas
SportONE Parkview Icehouse
Fort Wayne, IN
Saturday, March 20th, 3:10 PM
About the Saints
After receiving the third seed for two consecutive years, the Saints improved to the third seed in the 2021 WHAC Tournament with a 7-5 overall record. Last year Aquinas fell in the WHAC Championship game to UM-Dearborn 4-2. This season the Saints finished the regular season with a 5-2 record in WHAC play, and a ranking of 13th in the ACHA.
Aquinas boasts a balanced attack that features four skaters who have four or more goals. Brandon Rozema, Kyle Traux, and Darren Johnson all have six goals for the Saints while Alex Klekotka has five and a team leading 10 assists. Nick Ottenbacher and Roman Malkov are the Saints' netminders who both have a save percentage just under 90%. Jordan Permoda is at the helm for Aquinas, now in his sixth season.
Recapping the Cardinals' Season
The Cardinals had a shortened season that began in mid-January, but fought their way to a 6-5 overall record in the regular season. Sweeps over Cleary and Bowling Green helped earn the Cardinals the #3 seed in the WHAC playoffs and advance them to the semifinal game for the first time in program history. The Cardinals are currently ranked 17th in the ACHA.
Abel Christians and Hunter Kepple have led the Cardinals offensively with 8 goals apiece as well as 7 and 6 assists respectively. Quinn Bieniek and Kyle Hebner also reached double digit points for Concordia with Bieniek's 4 goals and 8 assists and Hebner's 3 goals and 7 assists. Tyler Groth contributed 4 goals and 5 assists to lead the Cardinal blueliners. Elijah Gibbons boasted a .950 save percentage between the pipes for Concordia.
WHAC Tournament
Quarterfinals - Friday, March 19
#5 Cleary (1-7) vs. #4 Rochester (2-6), 5:30 p.m.
Semifinals - Saturday, March 20
Winner #5/4 at #1 Indiana Tech (8-2), 12:30 p.m.
Winner #3 Concordia (3-4) vs. #2 Aquinas (5-1), 3:10 p.m.
Championship - Sunday, March 21
2 p.m.
