(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 23) – The McKendree University men's D3 hockey team completed the home sweep of Northern Illinois University, taking a 6-3 victory on Saturday afternoon.
 
Both teams were held scoreless through the first period of the game, the Bearcats fired 30 shots on goal but were unable to solve the Huskies goaltender. The second period saw two goals from each team. Northern Illinois struck first again in this game, this time taking a 2-0 lead before McKendree answered. The Bearcats had two quick responses late in the period. Freshman forward Derek Northrop (St. Louis, MO/De Smet Jesuit High School) netted both goals for McKendree, with freshman forward Adam Dempski (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell North HS) and senior defenseman Ethan Gremminger (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North) registering assists on the first goal. Northrop's second goal came short-handed on a pass from senior Garrett Kellam (St. Joseph, MO/Central).
 
The Bearcats were determined to take a victory in the contest coming out hard in the third period. McKendree freshman forward Nick Nelson (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) scored his first career goal just two minutes in with freshman forward Christian Blandina (Glen Carbon, IL/Edwardsville High School) getting the assist. The Bearcats took a 4-2 lead on a power-play marker from Adam Dempski (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell North HS) with Gremminger and freshman forward Garrett Poole (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School) adding assists. The Huskies response came with 8:38 left to play, but the Bearcats weren't done scoring. Nelson added his second tally of the game on a pass from sophomore defenseman Nick Gay (Pinedale, WY/Tri City Outlaws). Sophomore forward Michael Weedman (O'Fallon, MO/St. Peters Spirit) capped the game off with an empty net goal to give McKendree the 6-3 victory.
 
Freshman goaltender Zach Stenger (Collinsville, IL/Collinsville HS) got the start, playing the first two periods before leaving the game. Stenger stopped 13 of 15 shots on goal for a 0.867 save percentage. Junior goaltender Zach Allen stepped in for the third period stopping nine of ten shots for a save percentage of 0.900.
 
Nelson and Northrop helped lift the Bearcats over the Huskies with two goals each, including one short-handed marker from Northrop. Dempski found the back of the net once and added an assist for two points on the night.
 
The Bearcats are back in action at home on October 6 and 7, for games against Washington University-St. Louis. Both games will be played at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex, with Friday's game starting at 7:45 p.m. and Saturday's game starting at 4:45 p.m.