Box Score

The UW-River Falls women's hockey team dropped their first contest since Nov. 16, ending their 14 game unbeaten streak at the hands of the University of St. Thomas Tommies, 2-1, on Wednesday evening at Hunt Arena.
 
All good things eventually must come to an end, but a hard-fought, heartbreaking 2-1 non-conference defeat at home still stings. Especially when sophomore goaltender Gillian McDonald (3-2) played possibly the best game of her career.
 
The game started strong for UW-River Falls as they jumped out to an early 8-2 shot advantage in the opening eight minutes. Sophomore forward Chloe Kinsel had the game's first big scoring opportunity as she carried the puck out of the offensive corner, beat two defenders, and wristed a shot that was stopped by the pad of Tommies goaltender Alise Riedel (10-1-3); Riedel was stingy all evening.
 
Falcons junior defenseman Allie Olson cranked a wrist shot off the crossbar only minutes later after a quality Dani Sibley scoring chance in transition. Luckily for Riedel, the crossbar was wearing black and purple on the shot.
 
A great setup led to the game's opening goal, scored by the Tommies' Lauren Mumm at 8:46 of the first period. Mumm was fed in front of the net by senior forward Christina Rozeske. The snap-shot goal beat McDonald between the pads. Sophomore forward Karina Marette earned the secondary assist. The goal was Mumm's fifth of the season.
 
McDonald made a nice blocker save on Tommies sophomore forward Courtney Umland with six minutes left in the first. Umland slithered late into the zone on a rush and snapped a shot that McDonald sharply turned aside, sending it into the corner.
 
Falcons senior forward Kait Mason tied the contest with 3:04 left in the first period on a nifty rush. Freshman forward Karleigh Wolkerstorfer found the streaking Mason in the neutral and she did the rest. Mason walked around a Tommies defender and slipped a backhander behind a sliding Riedel. The goal was Mason's eighth of the season and was one her prettier highlights of the season. Wolkerstorfer's assist gives her four on the season and 13 points overall. Her 13 points lead all Falcons freshman.
 
McDonald had to make a late acrobatic pad save on Marette with under a minute left in the period. The shots on goal in the first period were 10-6, in favor of UW-River Falls. Falcons freshman defenseman Paige Johnson and Olson led the way with two shots a piece.
 
Falcons junior forward Alice Cranston had the second period's first quality scoring chance as she flew in and wristed a shot aimed for Riedel's five-hole, but she closed the pads just in time. Minutes later, a tremendous individual effort from the speedy Crysta Lowell nearly broke the 1-1 tie after she waltzed around two defenders, but her quick snap-shot was narrowly blocked by the left pad of Riedel.
 
The Falcons enjoyed another strong start to the period, as they outshot St. Thomas 5-1 through seven minutes, but the tides eventually turned. Tommies senior forward Kelsey Barnier rang a wrist-shot off the far pipe on a mid-second period 3-on-1 that quickly turned into a breakaway. Barnier outskated the Falcons defender and beat McDonald glove side, but the pipe happened to be wearing white and red this time around.
 
Falcons leading scorer Katie Batters had the best chance of the period as she had the puck on her stick all alone in front, but Riedel used her pads to absorb the close-range shot and hold on. The chance was one that Batters scores on nine times out of 10, kudos to Riedel.
 
Both teams began to take more chances and McDonald, more than most, had to stay extremely sharp. Not once, but twice she stoned Mumm on the doorstep. She marvelously maneuvered between the pipes making difficult saves look elementary.
 
The game's first penalty came with 3:30 left in the second period, but the Falcons failed to score on the opportunity. A beautiful Cranston back-check broke up a potential tap-in Tommies goal with 20 seconds left in the second period.
 
The second period shots on goal were 9-7, in favor of UW-River Falls. Sibley and Kinsel led the Falcons with three shots each through two periods.
 
Tommies freshman defenseman Hannah Bird broke the 1-1 tie just 4:42 into the third period on a rebound goal that popped over the glove of McDonald and into the cage. Junior forward Paige Baldwin took the initial shot. Bird's goal was her second of the season.
 
Following a blatant trip at center ice, the Tommies nearly pushed their lead to 3-1; luckily McDonald made the sprawling save on the golden 3-on-1 opportunity.
 
Riedel sharply stopped Falcons sophomore forward Leah Gefroh with nine minutes left in regulation on a quality transition wrist-shot that almost found twine; Riedel used her shoulder to make the stop. Moments later, Riedel made another big stop on Sibley with her blocker. Sibley's wrist shot was the Falcons' best chance of the period. Later, Riedel needed her glove to do the talking on a Sam Greeley point shot.
 
The Falcons had two late power plays to even the score but failed to light the lamp. They had plenty of close-calls narrowly miss. Riedel, in the end, was too strong. Final shots on goal were 38-21, in favor of UW-River Falls. Sibley and Kinsel both registered six shots. The Falcons outshot the Tommies 19-8 in the third period.
 
The Falcons fall to 13-4-3 overall and 5-2-3 at home. The Tommies extended their unbeaten streak to eight games and their record to 11-3-3.
 
The Falcons battle the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets (14-2-4) on Saturday evening in Superior, Wis.; the puck drops at 2 p.m. The Yellowjackets have won seven straight games, including four consecutive shutouts, but the Falcons are 1-0-1 against UW-Superior.

Box Score