Last night the Falcons defeated the Bulldogs by a score of 5-2 as they opened up their 2011-12 season. UWRF was hosting Adrian College again on Saturday night, and the Falcons proved to be the more dominant team once again to earn the sweep for the weekend series.

Starting at goaltender for the Falcons was sophomore goaltender Ashley Kuechle (Saskatoon, SASK, Battleford Sharks). Kuechle earned her first start since the Falcons heart breaking defeat against the Gusties of Gustavus Adolphus College in the first round of the Division III NCAA Women's Hockey tournament last season at Hunt.

In net for the Bulldogs was senior goalie Emily Michelin, who represented Adrian in net last evening before being pulled in the third period for teammate Brittany Zeches.

Scoring the first goal of the afternoon was Darion Bruyere (Sagkeeng First Nation, MAN, Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy) to give the Falcons the lead. The score was the first goal for Bruyere in a Falcon uniform, who joined UWRF after transferring from the University of Minnesota- Mankato following her freshman season. Assisting Bruyere on the score was Kendal Evenson (Roseville, MN, Roseville HS). The assist was the first point of the freshman Evenson's promising young collegiate career. The official time on the score was 8:20 in the first period.

Olivia Rork went on to tie the score at 13:01 on a power play opportunity following a series of penalties on Kait Mason (Eagan, MN, Eagan HS) at 10:12. Mason received penalties for checking from behind as well as a game disqualification call, and was promptly and consequently ejected from the game prior to serving any time in the penalty box. Assisting Rork on the goal was Danielle Smith.

Alyssa Black (Mankato, MN, West HS) responded with a goal of her own at 17:24 to ensure that the Falcons would have the lead going into the conclusion of the period. The score was Black's second of the season, and she was assisted by Alice Cranston (River Falls, WI, St. Croix Valley HS).

The second period was characterized by careless penalties. According to Falcon Head Coach Joe Cranston in an interview following the game, “We did not play a disciplined game, especially in the second period. Last year part of our success was that we were disciplined, and we will have to be that way again this year if we want the same results.” The second period consisted of eleven penalties, five of which were committed by River Falls.

The Bulldogs were able to capitalize on the first penalty of the second period, which was attributed to Allie Olson who was cited for tripping. The power play goal came on the stick of Rork, who was assisted by Smith and Kelly Salis. The goal came at 3:04.

Cranston put the Falcons back up 3-2 at 6:53 in the period with a shorthanded goal and assist coming from Katie Flanagan (Roseville, MN, Roseville HS). Cranston, who is joining the Falcons this year as an academic freshman out of River Falls High School as well as the Saint Croix Valley Fusion, is proving that she will be a force to be reckoned with for the Falcons offense this season. Cranston is the all-time leader in points scored for the Fusion with 137 goals and 76 assists, and displayed on the ice this afternoon that her offensive prowess is just beginning.

The Bulldogs tied the score at 18:05 with a shorthanded score of their own. The puck was cleared out to the Falcon zone, and Kuechle left the net to dump off a pass to teammate Amanda Ryder (Menomonie, WI, Minnesota Thoroughbreds). Kuechle's pass was intercepted by Sarah Connelly who scored easily on the empty net.

The third period consisted of clean, back and forth hockey. According to Coach Cranston, “We got into a good rhythm in the third period and played well then.” The score would remain tied up until 16:17 when Katie Batters (Champlin, MN, Champlin Park HS) would sink a shot to give the Falcons the lead. The score was Batter's first of the season, and she was assisted by Heather Horgen.

Following Batters' goal, the Falcons took a conservative approach to the remaining minutes of the game, holding on to the puck as long as possible and denying the Bulldogs a decisive offensive opportunity. Adrian pulled their goalie to little avail, as Cranston sunk her second goal of the night on the empty net with an assist from Brook Story (Warroad, MN, Warroad HS).

Kuechle tallied 22 saves in her game winning performance, with the Falcons outshooting the Bulldogs 30-25.

Adrian College now drops to 2-2 on the season, while the Falcon women narrowly hold on to the promise of yet another undefeated regular season.

The Falcons next matchup is against the Saints of the College of St. Scholastica next Friday night. The opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, MN.

Box Score