(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 4) – The McKendree University men's D2 hockey team collected a victory over the University of Illinois on Friday night with a 7-1 win.
 
The Bearcats improve to 11-3 on the season with the win, and 8-1 in Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA) Gold Division play. The Bearcats lead the MACHA Gold Division with 16 points.
 
The Fighting Illini struck first in the contest with a power-play goal to take a 1-0 lead, but the Bearcats responded on a goal by freshman forward Connor Brennan to even the score before the end of the first period. McKendree opened the second period strong as sophomore forward Tyler Wilson netted a goal just 1:10 into the second period. Brennan found the back of the net a second time in the contest 10 minutes later. Junior defenseman Ty Watt (Barrie, Ontario, Canada/Rama Aces GMHL) continued to prove as an offensive threat scoring another goal playing as a forward. The second period closed with McKendree leading the University of Illinois 4-1. Sophomore forward Dominic Naas (Neurensdorf, Zurich, Switzerland/Casper Coyotes WSHL) took care of the third period, scoring a natural hattrick to give the Bearcats the 7-1 victory over the Fighting Illini.
 
Junior goaltender Andrew Best (Midland, Ontario, Canada/Cambridge Bears Junior A team) played between the pipes for McKendree stopping 18 of 19 shots on goal for a save percentage of 0.947. Wilson had an impressive night, posting five points with one goal and four assists. Naas registered four points on the night, with three goals and one assist. Check out the highlights below for video of tonight's action!
 
The Bearcats and the Fighting Illini are back on the ice at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex.