HAMMOND, Ind. -- Craig Herman recorded a hat trick and
Kyle Fritz logged his first win in net with 45 saves to help lead Purdue Northwest past Concordia Wisconsin 7-5 on Friday night inside The Kube.
PNW (1-1) rebounded nicely from last week's season-opening loss and got on the board quickly with a 2-0 lead after one period. Both goals were scored by
Brandon Prodoehl with
Brandon McNeal and
Kevin Pietrucha assisting on the first strike in the 11th minute.
Ryan Butt and
Brett Bandstra assisted on the second goal scored with under six minutes left in the opening period.
In the second period, CUW (1-5) tilted the ice in its favor with three goals to take the lead. But, the Pride tied the score as Herman found the back of the net in the 15th minute and the two teams entered the final period tied at 3-3.
The third period featured big momentum swings as the action picked up on the ice. PNW scored twice in the third minute to move ahead 5-3 with Herman and McNeal feeding each other for a goal.
Jack Sarzynski was also credited with an assist on McNeal's strike at the 18:08 mark.
Then during four-on-four action, Herman found a breakaway after a Falcon shot pinged off the post and he beat the CUW goalie one-on-one with a beautiful backhand flip for the hat trick. That gave PNW a 6-3 lead with 16 minutes left to play.
The Falcons tacked on two goals and pulled within one after a rebound shot found the back of the net with 2:30 remaining. However, PNW held on down the final stretch as Fritz made huge stops between the pipes.
Kevin Pietrucha chipped an empty-net goal from PNW's end of the ice to seal the win in the final minute.
NEXT UP
These two teams will face off tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. CST inside The Kube.
PNW STATS
Fritz: 45 saves, 50 SOG
Herman: 3-2-5
Prodoehl: 2-0-2
McNeal: 1-2-3
Pietrucha: 1-1-2
Butt: 0-1-1
Bandstra: 0-1-1
Sarzynski: 0-1-1
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