Box Score Concordia-Moorhead senior goaltender Chris Neamonitis' 42 saves were not enough to stop senior defenseman
Jeff Burke and his fellows Falcons in Friday night's home opener at Hunt Arena.
Burke tallied one goal and one assist, and Falcon senior goaltender
Scott Lewan and his group of experienced, shot-blocking defensemen shut the door on a late third period rally from the Cobbers to come away with a 3-2 win in front of 638 fans.
A last second save by Lewan on Cobbers sophomore forward Adam Wiertzema tied a pretty bow on an exciting opening night for Falcon faithful.
Cobbers senior captain defenseman Caleb Suderman started the scoring at 9:24 of the first period. Suderman beat Lewan high blocker-side with a wrist-shot. The goal was assisted by sophomore forward Derek Whitehill and senior forward Chris Beede.
The Falcons followed the opening tally with two goals, 32 seconds apart. Freshman
Ryan Doner scored the first goal of his career for the Falcons at 15:20, as he found a loose puck in the slot and buried it past Neamonitis. The assist went to freshman defenseman
Michael Lant.
Shortly after Doner's tying goal, Burke put the Falcons in the lead for good at 15:52 with a wrist-shot through heavy traffic. The puck had eyes, as it deflected through multiple bodies in front of Neamonitis and into the back of the net. Senior forward
Alec Hagaman was credited with the lone assist.
Neamonitis had allowed only two goals in two games before tonight's action, and the Falcons matched that total in just 32 seconds.
The second period was a quiet one on the scoreboard as neither team was able to add a tally. The shots on goal in the second, however, were heavily in favor of UWRF, at 15-3. Neamonitis was peppered early and often in the second period, but managed to yield no goals. He relied on his quick glove to make several key saves.
The Cobbers spent the majority of the second period in their own zone, as a hardworking Falcons fore-check led to multiple scoring chances throughout the period.
Despite making only three saves in the second period, Lewan had to stay alert as Concordia-Moorhead found a late groove. Lewan flashed his pads on a last minute barrage by the Cobbers.
The third period started strong for the Falcons as sophomore forward
Zach Schrotenboer banged home a Neamonitis rebound at 5:20, which pushed the lead to two. The rebound opportunity came off a Burke shot from the point. Burke and Doner were credited with the assists, giving both players two-point nights. The goal was Schrotenboer's ninth of his career.
Here Chris Liermann on the call.
The Cobbers tightened the contest with a late third-period power play goal from freshman forward Jordan Christianson at 12:17. An odd bounce found his stick, and Christianson did not miss a wide-open net. Assists were credited to sophomore forward Jordie Bancroft and senior forward Dan Hrabowych. Hrabowych's shot was redirected off Bancroft's chest and onto Christianson's stick.
A last gasp by the Cobbers nearly tied the contest with Neamonitis pulled in the last minute of play, but a plethora of blocked shots, and two key Lewan saves, kept the score at 3-2.
Both teams had strong showings on the penalty kill as River Falls' power play went 0-5, and Concordia-Moorhead finished 1-5.
The Falcons host Hamline on Saturday at Hunt Arena with the puck dropping at 7:05 p.m.
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