(Pittsburgh, PA) - The Concordia Cardinals Men's Hockey team headed to Pittsburgh for a nonconference weekend series with the Duquesne Dukes. The Cards took game 1 in a dominating 6-1 victory, before dropping game 2 3-2 in a shootout.
Game 1 - Concordia 6, Duquesne 1
Anthony Seykora started in net for the Cardinals, recording 52 saves and surrending just 1 goal for a .981 save percentage in the victory.
The contest kicked off quickly, with the sides combining for 28 shots in the opening frame of play, but neither squad could find the back of the net in the opening period. The second period was a different story, however, as the Cardinals would open it up with a goal just three minutes into the period by Zane Rydel (assists by Quinn Bieniek and Derek Hebner) to give CUAA the lead. Brandon Troyer would follow that goal with a strike of his own just 1:48 later, doubling the lead early in the period on what would eventually be the game winning goal (assists by Brayden Tayles and Jackson Blough). Seth Francois added onto the lead just past the halfway mark in the middle frame with a shorthanded goal (assists by Brandon Troyer and Shane Romback), and the Cardinals would hold onto that advantage through the end of the 2nd period.
The Cardinals would continue the pressure early in the third, as a Hunter Kepple goal (assist by Nicholas Twombley) just 50 seconds into the frame would make it 4-0 in favor of Concordia. Zane Rydel would tack on his second goal of the contest (assists by Quinn Bieniek and Shane Romback) later in the period, before Duquesne would break the shutout with 5:36 to go in the final period. Quinn Beiniek would record the final score of the contest with 1:07 remaining (assist by Shane Romback), as the Cardinals secured a 6-1 victory on night one.
Game 2 - Duquesne 3, Concordia 2 (Shootout)
Zachary Janis started the second game of the weekend in net for the Cardinals, recording an impressive 67 saves in the defeat.
Game number two of the weekend would begin with another even battle, as the teams combined for 34 shots on goal in the opening frame, but would once again be shutout by the goaltenders. Concordia would open the second period similarly to the night before, scoring less than a minute into the period as Nicholas Twombley converted on the powerplay (assists by Quinn Bieniek and Hunter Kepple) to give CUAA the lead. The Cards doubled the lead in the second as Quinn Bieniek scored his program record 20th goal of the season (assists by Sam Sahr and Jackson Blough) as he also tied the Concordia single season point record on the score. Concordia would hold the 2-0 advantage as they headed into the second intermission.
Duquesne scored early in the 3rd to cut the lead in half, and while Zachary Janis would make 22 saves in the frame, the Dukes pressure would eventually result in a late goal with under 90 seconds remaining to tie the contest and send it into overtime. The sides would once again be blanked, this time in the overtime frame, sending the contest into overtime, where Duquesne would defeat the Cardinals 1-0 to win the contest.
CUAA finished the regular season with a 17-14-4 record (11-13 in the WHAC), securing the 4th seed in the conference tournament.
The Cardinals will be back in action next Friday, February 24th when they take on the #5-seed Aquinas in the Quarterfinal Round of the WHAC Tournament. Puck drop is TBD at the SportONE/Parkview Ice House in Fort Wayne, IN.
