Albert Lea, MN - Friday night served as the start of the so-called 'second season' for the McKendree University M1 Men's Hockey team, as the fifth-seeded Bearcats (13-17-1) had ventured upward to Albert Lea City Arena to take on tournament host and fourth-seeded Waldorf Warriors (13-19-1) in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2026 MCH Conference Tournament. McKendree charged ahead to a two-goal lead in the first period, and despite being out-shot for the game by five shots on goal,
Dylan Dallaire didn't let a single one through, as McKendree took a 4-0 winner to advance to the Conference Semifinals against top seed Minot State on Saturday afternoon.
In the regular season, this series had multiple games that featured a high rate of penalty minutes, but when they met Friday in the postseason, that did not appear to be the case. Despite two Waldorf penalties within the first three minutes of the game, that would be the start of a 10-penalty night between both teams.
Jonathan Davenport got the scoring going at the 6:21 mark, after assists from
Tanner Bettis and
Cade Rosansky. Just minutes after the midway point of the period,
Connor MacDonald gave the Bearcats a crucial but early two-goal lead (assist
Alex Kent) at the 13:34 mark. McKendree played clean, only accumulating a 2-minute minor for cross checking.
Riding the momentum from that two-goal period, the Bearcats scored before five minutes had passed in the second, with
Trey Erramouspe finding the goal off assists from
Bennett Uchacz and
Brady Nance. Aside from the Erramouspe goal, however, the second period was a fairly quiet one, as three minor penalties were all that made their way to the box score for the final 15:12 of the second, meaning McKendree held a 3-0 lead through two.
The Bearcats seemingly had a theme going. When
Sawyer Lownsdale got on the board off assists from Davenport and
Tarcisius Tibishkogijig, it marked the third of four McKendree goals scored within the first 10 minutes of a period. After the Lownsdale goal, the Bearcats had a pair of penalties, but nothing of substance.
Dylan Dallaire continued to be a stone wall in goal, stopping an impressive 32 of 32 shots, especially impressive knowing the season was on the line, and McKendree wound up getting out-shot 32-27 by game's end, with the scoreboard showing a four-goal Bearcat playoff winner.
McKendree will remain in Albert Lea, Minnesota for at least one more day and battle the MCH's top seed Minot State (25-1-1) on Saturday, February 21st, with puck drop set for 3:00 PM. Fans can view the game by clicking
HERE.
