Bloomington, Ill. - McKendree University D1 men's hockey dropped a two-game weekend series with Illinois State on Friday and Saturday, as the Redbird offense outpaced the Bearcats. 

Game 1 | Friday, February 11
McKendree went down 0-2 in the first period, giving up a pair of scores at the 15:36 mark and 10:32 mark of the opening 20. The Bearcats came back with a score in the final minutes at 1:29 remaining in the period, cutting the Redbird lead to just one score. McKendree's first goal was fired by junior forward Noah Scrum and assisted on by sophomore forward Karsten Portell. In the first, freshman goaltender Chad Purdy grabbed nine saves on 11 shots on by the Redbirds.

The second period saw another pair of goals from the host as the Redbird scored twice in the first 10 minutes, once again. Illinois State fired its first score at 14:47 and the second at 10:47, giving itself a three goal lead. The Bearcats gathered an attack late in the period, converting for a score at the 5:39 mark of the period. The goal was scored by junior forward Cory Robinson and assisted on by sophomore forward Brad Richardson. Purdy collected 14 saves on 16 shots on frame in the second 20-minute session.

Period three was a tough draw for the Bearcats, as they accumulated six penalties and allowed four goals. The Redbirds scored two in the first 10 (18:36 and 12:43) and two in the final five minutes of action (3:29 and 1:41). Purdy nabbed nine more saves on 13 shots.

Purdy totaled 32 saves, serving full-time in the net against the Redbirds. 

McKendree SCORING RECAP:
P1 | 1:29 | #19 Noah Scrum (Jr., F), assisted by #17 Karsten Portell (So., F)
P2 | 5:39 | #7 Cory Robinson (Jr., F), assisted by #21 Brad Richardson (So., F)

Game 2 | Saturday, February 12
The second game of the series was taken to overtime and landed in favor fo the Redbirds. McKendree scored the first goal of the match with senior forward Daniel Nomerstad getting the goal at 11:46 in the first half. He was assisted by graduate senior forward Aleksy Ivasenko and freshman Michael Sivek. McKendree ended the period with a 1-0 advantage while junior goaltender Kaybe Pasquet grabbed 11 saves on 11 total shots from Illinois State. 

The second period led to the Redbirds evening the game at 1-1 at the 16:04 mark and taking a 2-1 lead at the 12:21 mark. McKendree tied the game back up at 2-2 in the final five minutes with a score from junior forward Chris Noble at the 4:50 mark. Portell, again, dished out the assist on the Bearcats goal. Pasquet amassed 17 saves on 19 shots from the driving Redbird attack in the second period.

The third period remained null with double-digit saves from both goaltenders, leading to the overtime period. Illinois State controlled the tail end of the match, forcing Pasquet to make multiple saves in an extremely short window, eventally scoring the winner. The game-winning goal was scored at the 3:34 mark, giving the hosting-Redbirds the win over McKendree.

Pasquet finished the match with 43 total saves in over 60 minutes of action. 

McKendree SCORING RECAP:
P1 | 11:46 | #16 Daniel Nomerstad (Sr., F), assisted by #70 Aleksy Ivasenko (Gr., F) and #2 Michael Sivek (Fr., F)
P2 | 4:50 | #38 Chris Noble (Jr., F), assisted by #17 Karsten Portell (So., F)

UP NEXT:
McKendree D1 men's hockey will be back in action on Wednesday, February 16, at 1:30 P.M. for a matinee matchup against Maryville in St. Louis. 

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