Lake Forest, Ill. – On Saturday, the Concordia University Wisconsin men's ice hockey team fell to the Lake Forest College Foresters, 4-3, dropping their record to 3-5-0 overall and 2-4-0 in conference play. However, the Falcons prevailed in the shootout, 1-0, securing the Border Battle Cup for the second consecutive year.
The game started as a defensive battle, with neither team able to find the back of the net in the opening period. Junior goalie Gabe Rosek (East Lansing, Mich.) turned aside all nine shots he faced during the first frame, keeping the score knotted at 0-0 as the teams headed into the intermission.
The Falcons broke the deadlock early in the second period while shorthanded. At 9:53, sophomore Mi-Kwan Tallman (Edmonton, Alta.) caused a turnover deep in the Foresters' zone. After a defender inadvertently pushed the puck across his own goal line, Tallman quickly fired a shot on goal, which was cleaned up by junior Derek Humphreys (Spokane, Wash.) for a 1-0 lead.
Lake Forest responded less than two minutes later, evening the score at 1-1. But Concordia regained the advantage at 7:25 of the period when sophomore Alex Ochitwa (Prince George, B.C.) capitalized on a rebound from freshman Jack Guvenal (Georgetown, Ont.). The play was started by junior Noah Roitman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), who won a puck battle in the corner before feeding Guvenal for the shot. Ochitwa was in the right place at the right time to finish it off, giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
Once again, Lake Forest answered, leveling the score at 2-2 in the final minutes of the second period, setting the stage for an intense third frame.
In the third period, CUW regained the lead just 3:52 in. Freshman Ty Petkze (Sheboygan, Wis.) made a key pass to fellow freshman freshman Levi Carter (Keremeos, B.C.) in front. Carter redirected the puck past the LFC goalie to put the Falcons up 3-2.
But Lake Forest struck back midway through the period to tie the game once more at 3-3. The Foresters would then take their first lead of the night with 5:08 left in the contest, making it 4-3 after scoring their second consecutive goal.
Despite strong efforts, the Falcons could not equalize in the final minutes and fell short in regulation.
With the game decided, the teams moved to a shootout to determine the Border Battle Cup winner. The Foresters went first in the shootout, but Rosek stood tall with a save. In the bottom of the first round, Roitman beat the Lake Forest goalie on the glove side, putting the Falcons ahead 1-0.
In the second round, Lake Forest missed the net, and CUW also failed to score. However, Rosek came through again, making a crucial save in the third round to seal the win for Concordia and secure the Border Battle Cup for the second straight year.
In the loss, Guvenal led the Falcons with a team-high eight shots, including four on goal. Rosek finished with 17 saves in the game.
The Falcons will now take a short break for Thanksgiving before returning to action next weekend with a road trip to Dubuque.
