FOND DU LAC, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin ACHA men's hockey team battles in the Northern Collegiate Hockey League Hap Cup Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The NCHL Orange Division champions, Purdue Northwest prevailed with a 4-3 victory to prevent the Falcons from retaining the cup.
Purdue Northwest started the scoring with a shorthanded breakaway goal in the first period.
The Pride struck again on the power play in the second period to elevate the lead.
The Falcons responded on the power play with a shot in the slot from junior Dominic Murano (Milwaukee, Wis.) from assists from senior Tommy Cassel (Grafton, Wis.) and senior Rex Staudacher (Yorkville, Ill.)
Purdue Northwest closed the second-period scoring off a rebound.
The Falcons cut into the lead in the third period when senior Brandon Ballweg (Woodbridge, Va.) found the puck in the slot and buried it into the back of the net from a pass from behind the net from freshman Rocco Cicirello (Mequon, Wis.) and a secondary assist from freshman Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.).
The Blue and White pulled junior Austin Bartell (New Berlin, Wis.) for an extra attacker, but the Pride scored to double up the Falcons.
Tommy Cassel scored with 15.5 left in the contest in a scrum in front of the net.
Purdue Northwest held a 40-36 advantage in shots. Austin Bartell finished with 36 saves.
Marian won the other semifinal contest over Marquette, 5-1.
The Falcons will now wait for the ACHA to release the Division II Central Regional bracket to see the teams that will play in La Crosse, Wisconsin.