Pittsburgh, PA - On Saturday, Chatham Men's Hockey (8-2-0, 4-2-0) faced off against Albertus Magnus (6-4-0, 2-4-0) with a chance to sweep their conference series. The Cougars fell to the Falcons 4-2. 

Prior to the game, the Cougars were joined by the Allegheny Badgers 8U hockey squad, which contributed to the electric atmosphere in the building. Feeding off the energy, the Cougars jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Nick Cyprian stole the puck and fired one home, his 6th goal of the year and team-leading 16th point. Goaltender Cameron Kuntar made 8 saves in the period, and the Cougars went to the locker room up by one. 

The second period saw the intensity ratchet up. Both teams combined for 41 penalty minutes in the period. Early in the frame, the Falcons evened the score. Moments later, they went on the attack, putting another one home to go up 2-1. The Cougars hunkered down and responded with a goal of their own to tie the game. Charlie Smith scored 2nd goal in as many games, assisted by first year standout Caden Pendo. Albertus Magnus would add another one in the dying seconds of the period, to go into the intermission up 3-2.

The Falcons extended their lead to two goals early in the third period. The chippy play continued throughout the period; the teams combined for another 26 minutes in penalties. The Cougars pushed late and pulled their goaltender with 30 seconds left in the game, but were unable to even things up. The Falcons would leave Pittsburgh with a 4-2 victory and split the conference season. 

The Cougars will be back in action, following time off for the holidays, on January 3rd. They hit the road, playing Morrisville with puck drop scheduled for 7 pm.