SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Through one quarter, the game had the look of another barnburner between Wittenberg and Denison, which have shared the last two North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championships. The rest of the way, it was all Big Red as eighth-ranked Denison outscored Wittenberg 12-2 over the final three quarters in a 16-5 victory. 

The loss ended a two-year losing streak for Denison against Wittenberg, which dropped to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in the NCAC. The Big Red moved within a game of the NCAC title with the win, improving to 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference.

The first quarter was a high-scoring, back-and-forth battle that ended with Denison leading just 4-3. The Tigers then opened the second quarter on a power play and evened the score on a goal by freshman Andrew Morrison (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) just 12 seconds in. However, Wittenberg's offense was stymied from that point, as Denison scored the next five goals to take a 9-4 lead into halftime. The Big Red outscored the Tigers 7-1 over the final 30 minutes to secure the victory.

Morrison and junior Tyler Hall (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Twp.) scored two goals apiece for Wittenberg, which has three games remaining against Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan and Otterbein. The Tigers likely have to win their three remaining game to have any chance of reaching the NCAA Division III Tournament for a third straight year. Junior Alex Previte (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) added a goal and an assist.

Senior goalkeeper Spencer Baker (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) was credited with 11 saves as Denison launched 44 shots in his direction. SeniorMichael Cocking (St. Louis, Mo./CBC) shared team ground ball honors with four with freshman Riley Boehm (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury.