(O'FALLON, Ill., Feb. 8) – The McKendree University men's D1 hockey team completed the sweep of Northern Illinois early Saturday evening with a 6-1 win. Senior Tyler Wilson (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada/) secured his second hat trick in the series, capping off an eight point series.
 
The win advances the Bearcats to 14-4 overall and 12-2 in Midwest College Hockey (MCH) play.
 
McKendree came out quick as senior Dominic Naas (Neurensdorf, Zurich, Switzerland/Casper Coyotes WSHL) scored the opening goal just 23 seconds into the contest. Lazar Lestaric (Belgrade, Serbia/National Sports Academy USHS) was credited with an assist. Seven minutes later, Wilson netted his first with help from Naas and Lestaric. Back and forth play ensued the rest of the period with the Bearcats holding a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
 
No scoring happened in the first 15 minutes of the second period until Lestaric found the back of the net after connecting with Wilson and freshman Ryan Radke (Cave Creek, AZ/Cactus Shadows High School). Three minutes later, Wilson scored his second goal of the game off a pass from freshman Oscar Andersson (Stockholm, Sweden/Vasa Real). After 40 minutes of play, McKendree took a 4-0 lead into the final period.
 
A little of four minutes into the third period, Wilson completed his second hat trick in a row to give the Bearcats a 5-0 lead over the Huskies. Lestaric was credited with his third assist of the game. Junior Ryan Reader (Granite City, IL/Granite City High School) lit the lamp three minutes later, extending the lead to six. Naas was given an assist on the goal.
 
Northern Illinois broke the shutout with nine minutes remaining in the game. McKendree would go on to sweep the Huskies following a 6-1 win.
 
Sophomore goalie Wes Werner (LaSalle, Ontario, Canada/Sandwich Secondary School) made 23/24 saves, good for a .958 save percentage.
 
The Bearcats will be back on the ice next weekend, Feb. 14-15 as they travel to Illinois State for a MCH series.