FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Marian men's hockey (18-5-3, 14-5-1 NCHA) defeated Concordia Wisconsin 3-0 for their 13th consecutive win to advance to the Harris Cup semifinals. 

It only took All-NCHA selection Gianni Mangone 26-seconds to put the Sabres up 1-0 on the first shift.  Mangone brought the puck into the zone and fired a shot that bounced off the Falcon goaltender's glove and into the back of the net for his 11th goal of the season with assists to Hunter Stewart and Derek Thorogood.

Fellow defenseman Curtis Lewington then went five-hole at the 7:41 mark of the period from the high slot for his third goal of the season to give Marian a 2-0 lead.  The goal was assisted by Stewart and Devin Stuermer and forced a Falcon timeout early into the contest.

The Sabres would close out the period with a 13-9 shots advantage, but the MU defense would only get stronger as the game continued on.

The second period nearly produced a clean sheet until Jake Howie fired a shot from the point with only 14-seconds remaining in the period for a power play goal to put MU up 3-0.  Warren Carter and Stuermer assisted the goal which was Howie's 10th of the season.

Marian outshot the Falcons 13-5 in the period before outshooting CUW 10-4 in a scoreless final period to secure the 3-0 final.

Mike Baldwin was strong in net for his fourth shutout of the season stopping all 18 shots sent his way, while Mangone led the offense with a game-high four shots on goal.

The win marked the first time Marian advanced past the first round of the conference tournament since the 2011 MCHA Championship when the Sabres defeated MSOE 9-2 in the semifinals before falling to Adrian in the MCHA Championship game.

Marian next travels to St. Norbert Feb. 26-27 for a pair of 7 p.m. games to decide who advances to the NCHA Championship game.

--FightBlueFight--