Posted: Feb 01, 2024
(Canton, MI) – Concordia men's hockey hosted Cleary on Thursday afternoon for a game critical to conference positioning. After falling behind 5-3, the Cardinals rallied with 4 goals in the third period to claim a 7-5 victory.
Zachary Janis started the first period in net, recording 8 saves. The Cardinals struck first when Derek Hebner sent a long pass to Carson Ediger who streaked in from the wing and scored. Cleary responded with 2 goals scored 31 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead. Concordia tied the game on the powerplay when Chase Temple fired a low shot in net with assists by Quinn Bieniek and Derek Hebner. Cleary countered with a goal and led 3-2 after the first period.
Anthony Seykora came in to play goalie starting in the second period, recording 16 saves through the rest of the game. Chase Temple tied the game 3-3 with his second marker of the contest assisted by Tyler Bieniek. Cleary added a goal to take a 4-3 lead after two periods of play.
Cleary scored just 30 seconds into the third period to go ahead 5-3. The Cardinals began to rally when Bryce Iott scored on a 5-on-3 powerplay with helpers by Brandon Troyer and Seth Francois. Quinn Bieniek then recorded the tying goal by jamming in a rebound off a Kyle Hebner shot. Zane Rydel was able to jam in the eventual game-winning marker with an assist by Sam Sahr. Ethan Lindle added an insurance goal with Sam Sahr also assisting.
Cleary pulled their goalie for the extra attacker but Anthony Seykora and the Cardinal defense remained strong. CUAA took the 7-5 win as time expired.
Concordia will continue a busy weekend when they travel to Aquinas tomorrow at 7:40pm.
