Purdue University Northwest D2 Hockey punched its ticket to the finals with a hard-fought victory over Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) in Semifinal #1. From the opening puck drop, PNW controlled play, spending most of the early minutes in the CUW zone. Their best chance to take an early lead came just over five minutes in, but CUW's goaltender denied a breakaway opportunity.

At 7:28, PNW found itself on the penalty kill after Nick Lafornara was called for holding. The defense held strong, blocking two shots to keep the game scoreless. CUW had another chance with the man advantage at 11:26 after a long outlet pass set up Tommy Cassel behind the defense, drawing another holding call. However, PNW's penalty-killing unit remained solid, neutralizing the threat once again.

PNW earned a power play of its own at 15:22 but could not capitalize. Just as their penalty expired at 17:27, they were sent back to the box. This time, PNW made the most of the situation. Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill.) forced the puck out of the zone and raced toward CUW's net on a 2-on-0 break with Owen Ott (La Porte, Ind.) trailing. Behnke finished glove-side at 18:46, scoring a crucial shorthanded goal to put PNW ahead 1-0.

Just over two minutes into the second period, PNW returned to the power play. With 11 seconds remaining in the advantage, Colin Kozijn buried a low slot pass from Behnke to extend the lead to 2-0. CUW responded quickly, cutting the deficit to one just 14 seconds into their own power play at 6:25, as Garrett Wilderman rifled a shot into the top corner off a feed from Cassel.

PNW restored its two-goal cushion at 11:01 when Blake Witkowski's (Thompson, Conn.) shot bounced off CUW's goalie, Austin Bartell, and Kozijn pounced on the rebound for his second goal of the game. CUW had two more power play opportunities late in the second period but failed to convert. A penalty negated one of those chances, giving PNW a power play to start the third.

Leading 3-1 with 1:07 of power play time to begin the final period, PNW couldn't extend its lead. CUW kept fighting, cutting the deficit to 3-2 at 5:26 when Brandon Ballweg found himself alone in front of the net and finished a feed from Rocco Cicirello past a sprawling John Hughes (Noblesville, Ind.).

With 1:21 remaining, CUW used a timeout and pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. Off the ensuing faceoff, Kozijn outraced a defender and buried an empty-net goal at 18:46, sealing the win at 4-2. CUW, however, wasn't done. Pulling their goalie once again at 19:00, they managed to score with 15 seconds left, cutting the lead to 4-3. But the comeback bid fell short as PNW held on, denying CUW's final push and securing their first-ever appearance in the Hap Cup finals.