MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin ACHA men's hockey team battled Purdue Northwest on Friday afternoon at the Ozaukee Ice Center. The Falcons found the back of the net twice, but the Pride skated away with a 6-2 victory. Purdue Northwest held a 46-24 advantage in shots, while CUW finished 1-for-7 on the power play.
Sophomore Dylan Pomillo (Oswego, Ill.) provided both goals for the Falcons and finished the afternoon with a team-high six shots.
Purdue Northwest struck first at the 2:32 mark of the opening period on a goal from Mason Geng. The Pride added two more goals later in the period to build a 3-0 advantage.
The Falcons answered just 23 seconds after the third PNW goal. Senior Rocco Cicirello (Mequon, Wis.) helped create the opportunity in front of the net, where Pomillo crashed the cage and went top shelf to put the Falcons on the board with 4:48 remaining in the opening period.
Purdue Northwest regained control early in the second period. JT Verdino scored just 33 seconds into the frame before Jimmy Pautsch converted on the power play at 1:55. The Pride added another goal at 12:20 to carry a 6-1 advantage into the second intermission.
Concordia Wisconsin continued to compete in the third period and took advantage of an extended power-play opportunity. Pomillo struck again at the 3:01 mark for his second goal of the afternoon. Junior Nolan O'Malley (Chicago, Ill.) and Cicirello picked up the assists on the power-play tally.
The Falcons kept the pressure on throughout the final frame, putting 10 shots on goal and holding Purdue Northwest scoreless over the final 20 minutes.
Senior Austin Bartell (New Berlin, Wis.) was busy between the pipes for the Falcons and turned away 40 shots, including 14 saves in both the second and third periods.
Cicirello finished with two assists and won a team-high 16 faceoffs, while O'Malley added an assist and three shots. Pomillo paced the CUW attack with his two goals and six shots.
The two teams will close out the weekend series on Saturday night at The Kube Sports Complex in Hammond, Indiana.
