(LEBANON, Ill., Dec. 1) – The McKendree University men's D2 hockey team defeated Illinois State University on the road on Friday night by a final score of 14-1.
 
The Bearcats improve to 15-3 on the season, and 12-1 in Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA) Gold Division play. The Bearcats are currently riding a 10 game winning streak, with just one more game to play before the team takes a break. After Saturday's contest, McKendree doesn't play again until January 17^th.
 
The Bearcats took a two goal lead in the first period with goals from freshman forward Connor Brennan and junior defenseman Ty Watt (Barrie, Ontario, Canada/Rama Aces GMHL). The Redbirds inched closer with a goal to open the second period scoring, but freshman defenseman Daniel Nordlander responded just 15 seconds later with his first goal of the game to give McKendree the 3-1 lead. Nordlander scored again four minutes later to extend the Bearcats lead to three goals. Brennan netted his second goal of the game at the 9:32 mark of the second period with senior forward Billy Lamb (St. Louis, MO/St. Mary's HS) and sophomore forward Tyler Wilson registering assists on the goal. Nordlander found the back of the net again in the second period for his third goal of the period to register his first hat trick as a Bearcat. Sophomore forward Dominic Naas (Neurensdorf, Zurich, Switzerland/Casper Coyotes WSHL) capped off the second period scoring giving McKendree the 7-1 lead.
 
The Bearcats showed no signs of slowing in the third period, when Naas scored just 34 seconds in for his second goal of the game. Sophomore forward Travis Bobb (New York, NY/Vancouver Rangers WSHL) scored his first goal of the season to further extend the McKendree lead to 9-1. Junior forward Lazar Lestaric (Belgrade, Serbia/National Sports Academy USHS) scored the Bearcat's third goal in the first two minutes of the period on a pass from sophomore forward Levi Armstrong (Urbana, IL/Peoria Mustangs NA3HL). Naas finished off his hat trick with 15:57 remaining in the third period to give McKendree the 10 goal lead. Freshman forward Tyler Estermyer found the back of the net for the Bearcat's next two goals, with Watt capping off the scoring in the contest to give McKendree the 14-1 victory over Illinois State.
 
Junior goaltender Andrew Best (Midland, Ontario, Canada/Cambridge Bears Junior A team) started between the pipes for the Bearcats allowing just one goal in route to a 14-1 victory. Best's record improves to 10-3 on the season. McKendree boasted seven players posting a multi-point game. Naas led the team, recording seven points in the game with three goals and four assists. Wilson, Brennan, and Nordlander each notched five points on the night. Wilson had five helpers in the contest, Nordlander scored three goals and added two assists, and Brennan netted two goals and tacked on three assists.
 
The teams go head-to-head again on Saturday evening at 5:10 p.m. at the Pepsi Ice Center in Bloomington, Ill.