Piper men's hockey completes sweep of Falcons

Austin Tavis (Fy., Grand Rapids, Minn.) got the scoring started for Hamline at 3:51 in the first period off of a pass from Drake Herd (Fy., Alexandria, Minn.). About seven minutes later, Nick Zilles scored, with assists credited to Kyle Kurr (So., Elk River, Minn.) and Chris Berenguer (Fy., Eden Prairie).

Two minutes later, at 12:50 in the first period, Steve Festler (Jr., Little Falls, Minn.) scored his first of three goals. Cory Krogen (So., Marshall, Minn.) had an assist, and Dustin Fulton (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) added a second, which turned out to be his first of four assists on the night.

Festler's second goal came at 1:40 in the second period, with Fulton getting involved on an assist for the second consecutive score. Andrew Birkholz (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.) also earned an assist on the goal.

Matt Buckley (So., Dayton, Minn.) was the next Piper to get on the board, scoring at 3:17 in the second to make the score 5-0. He was assisted by Jim Erickson (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and William Leier (So., Woodbury, Minn.).

Hamline's sixth goal came at 15:15 in the second when Krogen's goal was assisted by Fulton and Birkholz.

The final goal in Festler's hat trick came just three seconds before the end of the second period as Fulton earned his fourth and final assist of the night. Jared Hummel (Fy., Eagan, Minn.) also received credit for an assist on the goal.

Four goals were scored in the final period of play, three of them by the Pipers. Lee Joos (So., Eagan, Minn.) contributed the eighth goal of the game at 3:53 in the third, with Ryan Shelafoe (Fy., Forest Lake, Minn.) and Krogen on the assists.

Concordia's lone goal came next, scored at 5:26 in the last period of play.

The final two Piper goals were scored by Joe Long (Jr., Dayton, Minn.) and Dustin Postell (So., Wadena, Minn.). Long's assist came from Krogen, while Birkholz and Joos earned assists on Postell's score.

The Pipers improved to 6-3-2, 3-1-0 MIAC with the non-conference victory. The Falcons fell to 1-11-0, 1-7-0 MCHA.

Hamline hits the road next weekend, traveling first to play at UW-Stevens Point on Friday, January 11 at 7:30 p.m.