Despite a 49-34 advantage in shots on goal, the Lake Forest College men's hockey team was defeated 3-2 by visiting Concordia University Wisconsin on Monday.
The Foresters took the early lead less than two minutes into the contest. It was the third goal of the season for junior forward Tyler Nielsen, who kept the puck during a 2-on-1 opportunity and blasted a shot just inside the right post. Sophomore forward David Cohen and freshman defenseman Matteas Derraugh picked up assists on the play.
The home team's lead was short-lived, however, as the Falcons converted power play opportunities at 5:05 and 12:25 to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Another score from the visitors at 15:14 in the second made the score 3-1 with 20 minutes to play.
Lake Forest closed to within one at the 9:27 mark of the third period. After a Falcon penalty, sophomore forward Ben Perkins won the face-off in the left circle, pulling the puck back to Derraugh, who passed it across to senior forward Josh Giacomin. The Forester captain fired it past the goaltender just six seconds into the power play opportunity. It was Giacomin's team-high sixth goal and 16th point of the season.
The Foresters pulled junior goalie Nick Wiencek with a minute remaining but were unable to tie the score.
Since in the 2014-15 season, the regular season series between the Lake Forest and Concordia Wisconsin hockey teams has been called the Border Battle and the series winner took home the Border Battle Cup. Since the Foresters prevailed Saturday night and the Falcons on Monday, the recipient of the trophy would be decided by a three-round shootout.
Three unsuccessful attempts by the visitors on Wiencek and a score by Forester freshman forward Noah Furman in the first round returned the cup to Lake Forest. It was the fourth shootout and fifth Lake Forest triumph in seven Border Battles.
The Foresters are now 6-8-1 overall this season and 4-3-1 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association play. Concordia Wisconsin improved to 2-11-2 overall and 1-4-1 in the league.
Lake Forest will host St. Norbert College, the eight-ranked team in the nation, this weekend. The teams are scheduled to face off at 7:00 Friday night and 3:00 Saturday afternoon.