MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin ACHA men's hockey team completed a thrilling weekend sweep of St. Norbert on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons battled back from a two-goal deficit, scored twice while shorthanded and prevailed in a dramatic six-round shootout to secure a 6-5 victory over the Green Knights.
The victory marked the second straight win for the Blue and White, who improved to 2-10 on the season after taking both games from St. Norbert.
Senior Rocco Cicirello (Mequon, Wis.) opened the scoring for the Falcons midway through the first period. Cicirello capitalized on a loose puck in front of the net and buried it to give Concordia an early 1-0 advantage.
The Green and Gold responded with a pair of goals just 35 seconds apart. Chaz DelMarcelle tied the contest before Jake Kunz gave St. Norbert a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Green Knights extended their advantage early in the second period when DelMarcelle struck again to make it 3-1.
Facing a two-goal deficit, the Falcons turned to their penalty-killing unit to completely change the momentum of the contest.
Junior Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) sparked the comeback with a shorthanded breakaway goal at the 7:26 mark of the second period, cutting the deficit to one.
Just 70 seconds later, sophomore Dylan Pomillo (Oswego, Ill.) followed with a shorthanded breakaway goal of his own to bring the Falcons even at three. The goal marked Pomillo's second shorthanded tally in as many nights after he scored four times in Friday's victory.
The two shorthanded strikes energized the Blue and White and helped turn a two-goal deficit into a brand-new contest.
Concordia continued its second-period surge when junior Michael Anderson fired a shot from the right circle into the net to give the Falcons a 4-3 advantage. Sophomore Caden Buenz picked up the assist on the go-ahead goal.
The Green Knights answered less than two minutes later when Sean Yurkov found the back of the net to send the teams into the final intermission tied at four.
The Falcons reclaimed the lead midway through the third period. Pomillo took advantage of a faceoff victory and fired a shot into the net for his second goal of the afternoon and sixth of the weekend.
With the Blue and White holding a 5-4 advantage, the Concordia defense worked to protect the lead against a determined St. Norbert attack.
The Green Knights managed one final response when Yurkov scored with just 36 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.
Neither team could find the deciding goal during the five-minute extra session, setting the stage for a dramatic shootout.
Dylan Smith put the Falcons on the board in the second round of the shootout. Evan Neitzel added another successful attempt in the fourth round before Jackson Lord converted in the fifth to keep Concordia in front.
The drama continued into the sixth round, where senior goaltender Austin Bartell (New Berlin, Wis.) delivered the decisive stop to seal a 3-2 shootout victory and send the Falcons into celebration.
Bartell was instrumental in the weekend sweep, finishing Saturday's contest with 36 saves, including five during overtime. The Concordia defense also held the Green Knights scoreless on all four power-play opportunities.
Pomillo led the offensive charge with two goals, while Cicirello, O'Malley and Anderson each found the back of the net. Cicirello also won 11 of his 13 faceoffs as the Falcons battled throughout the afternoon.
The weekend sweep provided a strong finish to the nonconference portion of the schedule and gave the Blue and White momentum heading into league play.
The Falcons return to action Friday when they host DePaul in their NCHL Black Division opener.
