(Hudsonville, MI) – The Concordia men's hockey team took on the Grand Valley State Lakers Saturday evening in the first of two nonconference contests between the two this weekend. Grand Valley jumped out to a 2-0 lead and would use the early advantage to carry themselves to a 5-2 victory.
The game started off with some back and forth action, as each side looked to strike early. Both teams would earn a powerplay opportunity, but come up unsuccessful. Eventually, Grand Valley found the back of the net with 4:20 remaining in the opening frame and took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
The Lakers wasted no time doubling their lead, either, as they would spring an odd man rush that led to the second goal of the game, just over a minute into the middle period. Concordia fought back, however, and would eventually cut the lead in half when Brandon Troyer fed Brayden Tayles in the slot for a powerplay goal with 3:05 remaining in the period. Tyler Groth also picked up an assist on the goal.
The Lakers quickly struck back for a powerplay goal of their own with 1:11 remaining in the second frame, and carried a 3-1 lead into the break. GVSU continued that momentum in third, jumping on an opportunity early in the period to extend their lead to three with 14:42 to play in the game.
Concordia tried to dig their way back into the game, firing 13 shots on goal in the final frame, and eventually Abel Christians connected on a low shot from the point with under two minutes left to play, cutting the Laker lead to 2. Kyle Hebner and Tristian Waechter picked up the helpers on the goal.
Eventually, however, Grand Valley would gain control of the puck with the Cardinal net empty and score to extend the lead back to 3, finishing the game with the score of 5-2.
Elijah Gibbons started in net for Concordia, making 25 saves in the matchup. The Cardinals outshot the Lakers by a final tally of 33-30.
CUAA will have a chance at redemption against GVSU on Sunday, December 12th. Puck drop is set for 4:30pm at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea, MI.
