APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence fell to Concordia University Wisconsin, 3-2, in a closely contested matchup at the Appleton Ice Center. The Falcons secured the victory with a power-play goal in the second period, despite the Vikings' strong performance in face-offs, winning 62% of them.
The first period began with Lawrence gaining early control, winning multiple faceoffs, and setting the pace. Despite an early penalty on
Ethan Look at 1:57, the defense, supported by
Nolan Mahaffey in goal, held firm and successfully killed the penalty, preventing the Falcons from capitalizing on their power play.
Following the penalty kill, Lawrence applied pressure and earned a power play of their own at 4:57. However, despite several attempts, including a blocked shot by
Roman Cherniak, they were unable to find the net. Concordia Wisconsin then broke the deadlock at 9:05 with a goal by Riley Klugerman, but Lawrence responded swiftly. At 12:01,
Cody Brekke equalized with an even-strength goal, assisted by Look and Cherniak.
The remainder of the period saw Lawrence continue to press offensively, creating several scoring opportunities, but they were unable to convert further. The period concluded with both teams tied at 1–1.
The second period began with Lawrence winning the opening faceoff, but the Falcons soon capitalized on a power play opportunity. Jack Guvenal scored with assistance from Connor Van Weelie and Klugerman, extending their lead at 15:56. Despite several attempts from players like Cherniak and
Alexey Trischuk, the Vikings were unable to find the net during this period.
Midway through the period, Concordia Wisconsin added to their advantage with a short-handed goal by Cooper Brown, assisted by Matt Green, making it 3–1. Lawrence continued to press offensively with shots from
Carter Cloutier and
Vladimir Fadeev, yet they were unable to cut into the deficit by the end of the period. The period concluded with the Falcons leading 3–1.
Lawrence began the third period with momentum, winning the opening faceoff and generating early offensive opportunities. Despite several shots on goal, Cameron Hrdlicka for Concordia Wisconsin managed to keep the puck out of the net. Lawrence's persistence paid off when Brekke scored an even-strength goal at 10:28, assisted by
Jacob Jakusz and
Jeb Dee, bringing the score to 3–2.
Lawrence continued to apply pressure with multiple power-play opportunities following Concordia Wisconsin penalties. However, Hrdlicka maintained a strong defense, and shut out the Vikings sealing the victory for the Falcons.
