(WEST DUNDEE, Ill., Nov. 9) – The McKendree University men's D1 hockey team beat Northern Illinois 12-4 on Saturday night to complete the sweep of the host Huskies. Nine different Bearcats found the back of the net in the win.
 
The Bearcats advance to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in Midwest College Hockey (MCH) play.
 
McKendree pushed across three goals in the opening period. Senior Dominic Naas (Neurensdorf, Zurich, Switzerland/Casper Coyotes WSHL), junior Aleks Ivasenko (Riga, Latvia/Riga 1. Distance Education High School), and Lazar Lestaric (Belgrade, Serbia/National Sports Academy USHS) added goals for the Bearcats. After the first period, McKendree held a 3-1 lead.
 
The Bearcats added in another four goals in the middle period. Junior Daniel Nordlander (Göteborg, Sweden/Wasaskolan Tingsryd), Ty Watt (Barrie, Ontario, Canada/Rama Aces GMHL), freshman Bryce Dirscherl (San Diego, CA/Thunder Ridge High School), and junior Connor Brennan (Castle Rock, CO/Regis Jesuit High School) found the back of the net. Northern Illinois added in a single goal to try and cut into the lead. McKendree took a 7-2 lead into the final period of play.
 
Further extending their lead, the Bearcats netted another five goals in the final period. Freshman Connor Mullins (Whitby, Ontario, Canada/Donald A. Wilson Secondary School), junior Shayne Pluto (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Central Memorial High School), Naas, Lestaric, and Brennan found the back of the net for McKendree. The goals marked Naas, Lestaric, and Brennan's second goals of the contest. The Huskies found the back of the net twice to double their scoring total to four.
 
The Bearcats went on to notch a 12-4 victory in the sweep of Northern Illinois University.
 
Freshman Kayne Pasquet (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada/Peacock Collegiate) made 36/40 saves in the victory.
 
The Bearcats will be back on the road next weekend, Nov. 16-17 when they travel up to Waldorf University.