(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 6)—The McKendree College hockey team was defeated Sunday on the road by Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 8-2. The contest was played in Alton, Ill.
The Bearcats trailed just 3-2 in the early stages of the second period, but the Cougars pulled away by scoring the final five goals of the contest. McKendree drops to 6-12-1 overall and will be on the road Friday to face Wheaton College.
SIU-Edwardsville jumped out to a 2-0 lead before junior wing Brian Neighbors (Belleville, Ill./Althoff Catholic) (Belleville, Ill./Althoff Catholic) scored off an assist from freshman Zach Crawford (Springfield, Ill./Pleasant Plains) (Springfield, Ill./Pleasant Plains) to cut the deficit in half. The Cougars built a two-goal margin early in the second period before sophomore center/wing Kyle Ilges (Highland, Ill./Highland) (Highland, Ill./Highland) netted an even-strength goal to help the Bearcats pull within 3-2.
But the Cougars started to pull away with three goals to end the second period for a 6-2 advantage. They added a pair of power-play goals in the final 20 minutes to seal the win.
McKendree goaltenders Marcus Power (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon) and Matt Brandt (Waterloo, Illinois/) (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) faced a combined 71 shots on goal in the contest.
-McK-
