The Purdue Northwest D2 Hockey Team wrapped up a two-game home-and-away series against Marquette University, earning a pair of victories with a 5–2 road win at the Ponds of Brookfield on Friday before securing a 5–3 win at the Kube Sports Complex on Saturday.
 
The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (13-5), Marquette University (9-5)
• Locations: Brookfield, Wisconsin & Hammond, Indiana
• Two-Game Series

Game One
Inside the Numbers

• Purdue Northwest goaltender Luka Krstulovich (Frankfort, Ill./) earned the win, stopping 41 of 43 shots in a full 60-minute effort.
• The Pride scored five goals from Devin Wiegel (Orland Park, Ill.), Sean Curtin (Chicago, Ill./), Pellegrino Pescatore (Willowbrook, Ill.), RJ Swaw (Orland Park, Ill./), and Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill./).
• Assists came from Owen Ott (La Porte, Ind./) and JT Verdino (Rutherford, N.J./), helping fuel a balanced offensive showing for PNW.
• Marquette scored twice, once late in the first period and again early in the third.
• Marquette goaltender Samuel Leger made 50 saves while facing heavy pressure throughout the night.

The Breakdown

• Purdue Northwest jumped out to a fast start in the opening period. At 6:00, Devin Wiegel (Orland Park, Ill.) opened the scoring after finishing a feed from Owen Ott (La Porte, Ind./).
• Just two minutes later, Sean Curtin (Chicago, Ill./) doubled the lead at 8:00 before Pellegrino Pescatore (Willowbrook, Ill.) made it 3–0 at 9:00.
• Marquette responded late in the period to cut the deficit to 3–1 heading into intermission.
• In the second period, RJ Swaw (Orland Park, Ill./) extended the Pride's lead at 15:00, scoring off an assist from JT Verdino (Rutherford, N.J./) to make it 4–1.
• Marquette added an early third-period goal, but Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill./) sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:00 to secure the 5–2 victory.

 
 
Game Two
Inside the Numbers

• Elias Johansson (Gothenburg, Sweden) earned the win for the Pride, stopping 36 of 39 shots in net.
• PNW scored five goals from JT Verdino (Rutherford, N.J./), Brayden Mitchell (Chesterfield, Mo./), Alex Moon (Wyandotte, Mich./Wyandotte), Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill./), and Dave Anderson (Carrolton, Texas).
• Assists were credited to RJ Swaw (Orland Park, Ill./), Alex Moon (Wyandotte, Mich./Wyandotte), Dave Anderson (Carrolton, Texas), Adam Napravnik (Praha, Czech Republic/), Zach Cestero (Estero, Fla./), and Collin Kozijn (Leduc, Alberta/), showcasing another balanced offensive effort.
• Marquette scored three times, including two goals in the second period and one on the power play.
• Marquette goaltender Samuel Leger made 51 saves despite facing 56 shots.

 
The Breakdown

• Marquette struck first at 4:35 of the opening period to take a 1–0 lead.
• Purdue Northwest responded in the second period with a surge of offense. At 2:17, JT Verdino (Rutherford, N.J./) tied the game after finishing a setup from RJ Swaw (Orland Park, Ill./) and Alex Moon (Wyandotte, Mich./Wyandotte).
• Less than a minute later, Brayden Mitchell (Chesterfield, Mo./) gave the Pride the lead at 3:03, scoring off a feed from Verdino.
• Alex Moon (Wyandotte, Mich./Wyandotte) extended the advantage to 3–1 at 5:15, finishing a play from Dave Anderson (Carrolton, Texas).
• Marquette answered with two goals in the middle of the period, including a power-play tally, to knot the game at 3–3 heading into the third.
• PNW regained control early in the final frame when Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill./) scored at 3:51 off assists from Curtin and Kozijn.
• Dave Anderson (Carrolton, Texas) put the game away at 13:15 with a power-play goal assisted by Moon and Napravnik, securing the 5–3 win.
• The game featured a physical edge, with multiple major penalties and misconducts assessed to both teams throughout the contest.

Up Next:
The D2 Hockey team return to the ice on January 16^th as they take on Aurora University at Bulldog Park in Crown Point, Indiana for their annual Outdoor Series. Game is scheduled for 2:00 PM CT.