The Falcons knocked off Finlandia 7-1 as Daleiden, Thompson, and Nordness each scored three points a piece Saturday afternoon at Hunt Arena

The Falcons dominated the first half of the opening period, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Lauren Conrad (Lino Lakes, MN, Centennial HS) knocked in the first goal of the game at 8:14 to give the Falcons a 1-0 advantage. Katie Flanagan (Roseville, MN, Roseville HS) and Michelle Anez (Little Falls, MN, Alexandria HS) assisted. A little over a minute later at 8:40, the Falcons caught Finlandia in a line change and took advantage. Kayleigh Bell (Stillwater, MN, Stillwater HS) and Kait Mason (Eagan, MN, Eagan HS) connected to find Emma Nordness (Excelsior, MN, Benilde-St. Margaret's HS) who slapped into the back of the net for her seventh goal of the season, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead. Jami Weiss (Hermantown, MN, Proctor-Hermantown HS) tapped in a waist-high rebound from a Conrad shot to put the Falcons up 3-0 at 16:22. With a little over a minute left, Finlandia's Taryn Moffat slipped one past Falcon goaltender Melissa Deardorff (Anchorage, AK, Anchorage North Stars) from the glove side circle to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Shelby Rasmussen (Plymouth, MN, Wayzata HS) streched out her legs and relieved Deardorff between the pipes to start the second period. Deardorff only faced three shots in the period, saving two of them. Midway through the second period, Mason tallied her eighth goal of the season put the Falcons up 4-1 on a power-play-goal at 11:10 off assists from Jessica Thompson (Shoreview, MN, Mounds View HS) and Judy Daleiden (Blaine, MN, Blaine HS). Brook Story (Warroad, MN, Warroad HS) tacked on another Falcon power-play-goal at 17:02. It was her tenth of the season and was assited by Daleiden. Nordess scored her eighth goal of the season at 17:28 off a Thompson assist.


Between the pipes, the Falcons stopped 9 of 10 shots faced. The Falcons outshot the Lions 51 to 10 on the afternoon. Deardorff allowed one goal on three shots while Rasmussen stopped all seven shots faced. The Falcons benefitted from the advantage on 2 of 5 attempts while Finlandia failed to convert on one attempt.

The win extends the Falcons unbeaten streak to 22 consecutive and they now have clinched the NCHA regular season championship with 28 points. Tomorrow, the Falcons go for win number 20 in the second of their two-game-series with Finlandia. Puck drops at noon at Hunt Arena.

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