(CHESTERFIELD, Mo., March 8) – The McKendree University men's D1 hockey team captured the first ever Midwest College Hockey (MCH) Tournament Championship with a 4-1 triumph over No. 2 seed Illinois State on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Bearcats close out the season at 20-5-1 overall, its first season at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division-I level.
 
At the conclusion of the tournament, senior Dominic Naas (Neurensdorf, Zurich, Switzerland/Casper Coyotes WSHL) was named the Most Outstanding Player for his performance.
 
McKendree jumped ahead nine minutes into the opening period when Ty Watt (Barrie, Ontario, Canada/Rama Aces GMHL) connected with senior Tyler Wilson (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada/) for the game's first goal. A minute later, senior Dominic Naas (Neurensdorf, Zurich, Switzerland/Casper Coyotes WSHL) gave the Bearcats a 2-0 lead with help from sophomore Nikita Sokov (Pervourlask, Russia/School #15). Illinois State answered countered back with seven minutes remaining in the period. After the first period, the Bearcats held a 2-1 lead.
 
Naas netted his second goal of the game shortly into the middle period with assists from Wilson and Lazar Lestaric (Belgrade, Serbia/National Sports Academy USHS). Three minutes later, freshman Connor Mullins (Whitby, Ontario, Canada/Donald A. Wilson Secondary School) extended the lead to three with passes from freshman Oscar Andersson (Stockholm, Sweden/Vasa Real) and Sokov.
 
The Bearcats defense shutdown the Redbird offense, allowing no goals in the second and third period. Illinois State could only register 16 shots in the two periods with Andrew Best (Midland, Ontario, Canada/Cambridge Bears Junior A team) turning away all 16.
 
In the crease, Best made 22 saves in the championship effort, registering a .957 save pe