The Falcon men's hockey team defeated the Blugolds of UW- Eau Claire by a score of 4-2 in an NCHA matchup at Hobbs Ice Center on Saturday night.
The Falcons entered the game in sixth place in the NCHA standings. A win against the Blugolds would move them to fifth place, as the Falcons had defeated their previous three opponents in an end of the season comeback.
River Falls last faced off against Eau Claire in November in a weekend series at Hunt Arena. The Falcons went 1-1 in the series, winning the first game 3-2 and dropping the second 6-3.
In net for the Falcons was freshman goaltender Scott Lewan (Westland, MI, Alberni Valley, BCHL) who has been lights out in his last three games, helping spark the Falcons recent streak of success.
Scoring the first goal of the night was Blugold Chris Heineman at 5:04 in the first period. The score came with assists from Andrew McCabe and Kurt Weston.
Justin Brossman (Littleton, CO, Sioux City, USHL) struck back for the Falcons with his second goal in as many games at 9:37. The goal was Brossman's 12th of the season, and he was assisted byDerek Kaiser (Crookston, MN, Alexandria, NAHL) and Josh Calleja (New Richmond, Wisconsin, MnJHL). Brossman is currently both the leader in goals and points scored with 22.
Brossman's goal was the only Falcon score of the first period against Blugold goaltender Brandon Stephenson, who made seven saves in the period. Lewan made 11 saves in the first 20 minutes of play.
Geoff Shewmake (Chicago, IL, Bradford, GMHL) tallied the lone goal of the second period to give the Falcons the lead. The score was Shewmake's fifth of the season and he was assisted by Alec Hagaman (Peoria, IL, Topeka, NAHL). The goal against Stephenson came at 14:46.
Both teams tallied 10 shots on goal in the period. Lewan made all 10 saves, while Stephenson allowed in the shot from Shewmake to total nine saves on the period.
Jason Yuel (Winnipeg, MAN, Prince George, BCHL) extended the Falcon lead to two goals at 7:46 in the third period. Yuel has been on a roll this weekend, scoring a goal last night as well against UW-Stout. The score was Yuel's fifth of the season. Assisting Yuel on the goal was Shewmake.
Andrew Wilcox cut into his team's deficit at 12:14. The goal came on a power play opportunity following a slashing call on Calleja. The penalty was the only one for either team in the third period. Kurt Weston and Jordan Singer were awarded assists on the goal.
John Bullis (Frisco, TX, Texas, NAHL) put the nail in the coffin at 19:52 with an empty net score when the Blugolds pulled Stephenson to get an extra attacker on the ice in a last ditch effort to tie the score. The goal was the second of the season for Bullis, who has earned points in all four of the Falcons winning efforts on this recent streak. Assisting Bullis on the goal was Calleja and Brossman.
The Falcons outshot the Blugolds 11-10 in the period. Lewan totaled 30 saves throughout the game to Stephenson's 25.
The Falcons are now 11-11-1 on the season. With the victory, River Falls has also moved up to fifth place in the NCHA standings. The Falcons will be hosting St. Norbert College in a conference matchup at Hunt Arena next Friday night, and ending the regular season when hosting UW-Stevens Point the following night.
The Falcons hold a 16-34-2 series record against the Green Knights of St. Norbert. The Falcons are looking for their first win of the season against the Green Knights, as they were dropped 2-1 and 3-1 in November at the Corner Stone Center in Green Bay. The opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
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