The Falcon men's hockey team faced off against the Royals of Bethel University in a heated matchup on Saturday night. Seeking to keep their unbeaten record alive, the Falcons looked to sophomore goaltender Scott Lewan (Westland, MI, Alberni Valley, BCHL). Lewan has been lights out in his previous three starts of the season, including two back to back shutouts against Finlandia University.

In net for the Royals was Dan Harper.

Scoring the first goal of the matchup was Falcon captain and senior presence Jason Yuel (Winnipeg, MAN, Prince George, BCHL). The score was Yuel's second of the season thus far, and he was assisted by Jake Calleja (New Richmond, WI, Wisconsin, MnJHL) and John Bullis (Frisco, TX, Texas, NAHL). The official time of the goal was 6:33 in the first period.

Bethel would go on to tie the score at 10:43 on the stick of Jake Kogler. Kogler was assisted by teammate Danny Smith. The goal was the only first period score allowed by Lewan thus far this season.

Willie Hess (Lino Lakes, MN, Fresno, NAHL) put the Falcons back on top at 13:59 on a power play opportunity following a crucial tripping call on Jack Paul. Hess's third goal of the season came thanks to assists from Ben Beaudoin (Inver Grove Heights, MN, Southern Minnesota, NAHL) and George Malliaras (Palos Hills, IL, Texas, NAHL).

Paul went on to tie the score in the concluding minute of the first period on a power play chance of his own. Bullis was cited for high sticking and Paul took advantage of the chance by sinking a shot at 19:24. Paul was unassisted.

The second period was full of enormous hits and aggressive play following an injury timeout on behalf of Falcon co-captain and senior Sean Roadhouse (Tulsa, OK, Texas, NAHL). Roadhouse was slow to get up and needed assistance to skate off the ice due to an apparent knee injury. Tempers flared consequently, and the penalty box was occupied by players for the entire second half of the second period.

Scoring the lone goal of the second period was Geoff Shewmake (Chicago, IL, Bradford, GMHL) at 15:03. Assisting Shewmake on the score was Alec Hagaman (Peoria, IL, Topeka, NAHL) as well as Yuel. Shewmake leads the Falcons in goals scored this season with 6.

Both teams experienced a surge on offense for the third period, as scoring plays were all but uncommon in front of the roaring 641 fans at Hunt Arena. Scoring the first of these goals was Hagaman just 59 seconds into the period, and he was assisted by Bullis.

Tyler Sorensen cut into the Royal's defecit at 7:44 on a power play goal following a holding call on Ryan Goodmanson (Clear Lake, WI, Kenai River, NAHL).

Justin Brossman (Littleton, CO, Sioux City, USHL)n hit the mesh for the first time of the evening not even a minute later to put the Falcons over the Royals 5-3. Brossman, last season's leader in points scored for UWRF, has tallied a point in every game thus far this season. The goal was Brossman's third of the year.

Tyler Swanson and EJ Gann would tie the score up 5-5 with goals at 9:10 and 11:46 respectively. Gann's goal came on a power play chance, while Swanson was able to place a well aimed shot in net during 5 on 5 competition.
The student section at Hunt Arena erupted in applause at 13:49 when Blake Huppert (Wasilla, AL, Alaska, NAHL) would score to put the Falcons back up by a goal. Huppert was assisted by Hess, who also was recording the first assist of his collegiate career.

The Royals had several offensive opportunities following Huppert's goal, but were unable to capitalize on the lights out defensive from Lewan and the Falcon defense.

The Royals pulled Harper from the net several times during the last two minutes of play. The Falcons took advantage of it with one second remaining when Adam Cardwell (Long Beach, CA, Wichita Falls, NAHL) would sink an unassisted, open net shot to tally the third goal of his young collegiate career.

Lewan made a total of 17 saves in the matchup as the Falcons outshot the Royals 36-22.

In an interview following the victory, Falcon head coach Steve Freeman had this to say: “It was a helter-skelter type of game tonight,” Also, “I hope we learned some things. We played pretty loose in our defensive zone. But we battled through and played very hard in the third period to get the win.”

Men's Hockey will be hosting the Green Knights of St. Norbert College next Friday night. The Green Knights ended UWRF's season last year in the NCHA Peter's Cup Semifinals in a matchup in Green Bay. The puck for Friday night's game is set to drop at 7:05 p.m.

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