(Chelsea, MI) – The Cardinals hosted Cleary on Saturday evening in the second half of their two-game weekend series with the Cougars. The Cardinals used the momentum of three early goals to hold the lead throughout the entire game for an eventual 5-2 win on the way to their second consecutive series sweep.
Concordia got off to a blazing start, beginning with a Kyle Hebner shot from the right corner that sneak past the goalie five-hole to put the Cardinals on the board first. Jacob Gerace would pick up the assist on the score. Less than a minute and a half later, Brandon Troyer would do his best reinactment, firing a shot from a tough angle on the left side to beat the goalie and double the CUAA lead. Hunter Kepple and Abel Christians picked up the helpers.
Then the Cardinals powerplay would get in the action, as Abel Christians and Tyler Bieniek assisted a Tristan Waechter snipe that extended the Concordia advantage to 3-0. After a Cleary timeout, the period continued with numerous big opportunities for CUAA, but the frame ended with the score still at 3-0.
The second period took on a different look, with the Cougars gaining momentum and both sides earning high quality opportunities. Cleary picked up a goal on a five minute powerplay, but starting goalie Anthony Seykora stood tall for the Cardinals, making numerous big saves on odd man rushes, and the middle 20 minutes ended with score at 3-1.
The Cardinals would find their rythm again in the third, though, as Quinn Bieniek tallied his first goal of the season less than 5 minutes into the third frame. Tyler Bieniek and Derek Hebner would nab the assists on that goal.
Cleary would respond with a goal at the 7:47 mark as they tried to claw their way back into the contest, but Concordia was not done scoring yet. After a puck was moved up the wall by Brandon Troyer and dropped back by Jack Geraghty, Thomas Hendry would fire a one timer slapshot from the point and rifle it into the top right corner of the Cougars goal, pushing the lead back out to three.
CUAA would hold Cleary scoreless the rest of the contest, securing a win with a 5-2 final score. Seykora made 19 saves in his second consecutive start, moving his collegiate career record to an impressive 4-0.
The Cardinals will be back in action next Friday when they head to Fort Wayne, IN to take on the 6th-ranked Indiana Tech Warriors. Puck drop is set for 7:30pm at the SportONE/Parkview Ice House.
