LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University men's hockey wrapped up the first semester portion of their schedule on December 6^th and 7^th with a two-game road trip to DeKalb, Illinois as they battled the Northern Illinois University Huskies. With the two victories over NIU, the Bearcats ended the first half with an overall record of 12-10 (11-5 MCH), including a seven game winning streak in Midwest Conference Hockey play.

Multitude of Ranked Victories

The Bearcats had a trio of top 25 wins during the first semester over Missouri State, Illinois and Iowa State. The win over then-No. 16 Missouri State on September 21^st, saw the Bearcats claw their way out of a 3-0 hole in the last 21 minutes of action. Ben Anderson got McKendree on the board with a power play goal late in the second period. Jack Harris and Isaac Fuller found the twine in the early stages of the third period to tie the game at 3. As the game went to the extra frame, Joe McCormick buried the game-winner on the assist from Jack Harris.

Back on Friday, October 4^th, the Bearcats collected their second overtime win over a ranked opponent as they took down then-No. 25 Iowa State with the 3-2 final. Alex Kent tied the contest at 1 in the middle part of the second period. After ISU took the 2-1 lead heading into the final stanza, Joe McCormick tied the game at 2 which forced overtime. Three minutes into the extra five minutes, Jack Harris secured the Bearcats win with the helpers from Kent and Matias Alexandrov.

As the calendar flipped to November, McKendree hit the road to the University of Illinois for a two-game set against the then-ranked Illini. The Bearcats came away with the two-game sweep, with both games ending in the final score of 4-3 in overtime.

You Get a Goal, Everyone Gets a Goal

Four of the Bearcat newcomers registered their first collegiate goals during the first semester of action. Brady Nance was the first of the bunch on September 14^th as he got the scoring started in the contest against the University of Illinois. A week later against Missouri State, Isaac Fuller's first collegiate goal was a big one as it tied the contest at 3, which McKendree went on to win in overtime. On September 27^th against Midland University, Jacob Begich scored the lone Bearcat goal of the contest in the 5-1 loss to the Warriors. The fourth Bearcat freshman to score his collegiate first was Trey Erramouspe in the second period on December 6^th against Northern Illinois University in the 5-0 McKendree win.

Career Milestones

A couple of Bearcats achieved some key milestones during the 2024 portion of their season. Joe McCormick eclipsed 50 career points with his assist in the second period against the University of Illinois on November 1^st in the 4-3 overtime win.  Ironman Blake Martin became just the sixth Bearcat to skate in over 100 games during his career in the purple and gold. His 100^th career game was on December 6^th against Northern Illinois University.

Looking Ahead

When the Bearcats return to the ice, they will host the Missouri State University Bears for the first time since November of 2021. The two-game set is scheduled for January 10^th and 11^th at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex. Then on January 17^th through the 19^th, the Bearcats will take part in the ACHA M1 Showcase at the Maryville Hockey Center. McKendree is scheduled to battle Lawrence Tech (Mich.) on the 17^th, the University of Oregon on the 18^th and West Chester University of Pennsylvania on the 19^th.