MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's ice hockey team is rolling again. The Falcons dropped the puck on the 2025-26 season on Friday night and picked off Saint Mary's of Minnesota, who is receiving votes in the national rankings with a 3-1 victory in the season opener.

The first period flew by on Friday and had only six faceoffs.

The Falcons broke though with 11:43 left in the second period off a sophomore Scout Stromberg (Tomahawk, Wis.) shot from the far circle off passes from junior Mackaylan McGown (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and junior Naomi Black (Ottawa, Ontario).

The Cardinals chirped back a two minutes later with their lone goal of the evening.

CUW responded with another goal 70 seconds later to reclaim the lead. Scout Stromberg tossed a long pass down the ice to find freshman Michaela Gerum (Wausau, Wis.), who then connected with Naomi Black in front of the net for the goal.

The Falcons closed the scoring with 3:16 left in the second period on the power play where Makayla Spejcher knocked in a rebound off a Naomi Black shot and a secondary assist from freshman Abby Hansberger (Elk River, Minn.).

The Cardinals applied more pressure in the third period but junior Carolyn Bourgeault (Buffalo, N.Y.) locked down the net in the third period and finished the game with 17 saves to preserve the victory.

The Falcons held a 28-18 advantage in shots on Halloween. The trio of sophomore Taylor Heleniak (Mercer, Wis.), Naomi Black and Makayla Spejcher all led the game with five shots.

The Birds also blocked 10 shots, with freshman Emma Geffre (St. Louis, Mo.) and junior Ava Litkey (Kenosha, Wis.) blocking two.

Concordia stopped Saint Mary's on both power-play opportunities on Friday.

The Falcons look to finish off the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon.