DE PERE, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin women's hockey team suffered a hard-fought 4-3 loss to St. Norbert College on Saturday, dropping their record to 13-4-0 overall and 8-2-0 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play. The Green Knights, meanwhile, remained undefeated, improving to 10-0-0 and maintaining their spot atop the conference standings.

St. Norbert struck early, taking a 1-0 lead just 2:31 into the game. However, the Falcons responded later in the first period when senior Brooke Gibson (Lasalle, Ont.) netted her 12th goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Junior Makayla Spejcher (Green Bay, Wis.) and senior Natalie Mackrell (Florissant, Colo.) each recorded assists on the play.

The second period saw both teams struggle to find an advantage, with the game remaining tied until the final minutes. St. Norbert capitalized on a late opportunity, scoring in the closing moments to take a 2-1 lead into the third period.

Coming out of the break, the Falcons quickly tied the game at 2-2, thanks to freshman Taylor Heleniak (Mercer, Wis.), who scored just 3:43 into the third period. The goal was set up by sharp passing from sophomore Brenna-Grace Dittmer (Chatham-Kent, Ont.) to Gibson.

However, the Green Knights answered back with two quick goals to stretch their lead to 4-2 with just 1:10 remaining in the game.

Despite the deficit, the Falcons were not ready to give up. With just six seconds left, freshman Scout Stromberg (Tomahawk, Wis.) scored to pull CUW within one, with senior Erika Graham (Brighton, Mich.) and sophomore Ava Litkey (Kenosha, Wis.) earning assists. Unfortunately, it was too late for the Falcons to mount a full comeback, and St. Norbert held on for the 4-3 win.

Senior goaltender Kami McCardle (Jackson, Wis.) made 34 saves in the loss, keeping her team in the game with several key stops. On the offensive side, Stromberg and Gibson each led the charge with three shots on goal. Sophomore Mackaylan McGown (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) won a team-high 12 faceoffs in the effort.

The Falcons will now shift their focus to next weekend's series against Aurora as they look to rebound from this tough defeat.