MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's hockey team tied Lawrence, 3-3, on Friday night before defeating the Vikings, 2-0, in a shootout. It marked the Falcons' first shootout of the season and their first since the 2022–23 campaign, when CUW also earned a shootout victory at Finlandia. With the result, the Falcons move to 8-10-1 on the season.
 
Concordia Wisconsin opened the scoring just over 10 minutes into the first period. Junior Riley Klugerman (Aurora, Ont.) swiped the puck from the Vikings in their offensive zone and carried it up ice before dishing to sophomore Connor Van Weelie (Mississauga, Ont.) in the neutral zone. Van Weelie then found sophomore Levi Carter (Keremeos, B.C.) near the crease, where Carter tipped the puck home for his eighth goal of the season.
 
Lawrence answered before the end of the opening frame, knotting the score at 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.
 
The Falcons regained the lead early in the second period, scoring just under two minutes in. Sophomore Evan Forrest (Spruce Grove, Alta.) buried a shot from just outside the crease to earn his fifth goal of the season, with assists from freshmen Cooper Brown (Airdrie, Alta.) and Matt Green (Barrie, Ont.).
 
The Vikings responded with back-to-back goals to take the lead, but CUW quickly countered. On the power play, the Falcons fired four shots before Van Weelie found the back of the net to tie the game. The sophomore was assisted by senior Derek Humphreys (Spokane, Wash.) and sophomore Jack Guvenal (Georgetown, Ont.).
 
Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the third period, sending the game into overtime. Despite quality chances on both sides, the extra frame remained scoreless, forcing a shootout.
 
Lawrence shot first, but stellar goaltending by sophomore Cameron Hrdlicka (Calgary, Alta.) kept the puck out. Senior Noah Roitman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) led off for the Falcons, faking out the Vikings' goaltender to give CUW a 1-0 edge after the opening round.
 
Hrdlicka turned aside another Viking attempt in the second round, setting the stage for junior Alex Ochitwa. Ochitwa capitalized on the opportunity, beating the Lawrence goalie to seal the shootout victory for the Falcons.
 
Hrdlicka finished the contest with 26 saves, including 10 in the opening period. Junior Matt Koepke (Vernon Hills, Ill.) contributed defensively with four blocked shots.
 
Humphreys paced the Falcons with six shots on goal, while Carter followed closely with five. Junior Sawyer Wirsing (Arundel, Maine) was strong in the faceoff circle, winning seven of his nine draws.
 
The Falcons will complete their series against Lawrence tomorrow on the road. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Appleton Ice Center in Appleton, Wis.