Box Score The UW-River Falls men's hockey team was defeated by the UW-Superior Yellowjackets, 2-1 in overtime, on Saturday night in Superior, Wis. despite 32
Scott Lewan saves.
One night after saving 38 of 39 shots, Lewan (8-4) was asked to stop 34 on Saturday night but only managed to keep 32 out of the net. The Yellowjackets downed the Falcons with 14 seconds left in overtime, stealing a conference point from UW-River Falls.
UW-Superior carried a 10-5 shot advantage into the second period, despite UW-River Falls opening the game with four straight shots on goal. Lewan had to stop seven straight Yellowjacket shots midway through the first period. Both teams killed off 5-on-3 power plays in the first, and UW-Superior's senior defenseman Derek Stauber led all skaters with three shots on goal.
Yellowjackets senior defenseman Connor Faupel opened the scoring at 6:01 of the second period with the assist going to senior forward Pat Dalbec. Faupel fired a slap shot from the point that beat a heavily screened Lewan. Faupel's goal was his second of the season.
The Falcons had to feel pretty good about their second period, despite trailing 1-0 after two periods. They outshot the Yellowjackets 20-10 in the second period, and finished the period with a 12-1 shot run. Yellowjackets junior goaltender Dayn Belfour (3-4-1), who was pulled earlier this season against UW-River Falls, stole the show in the second period. Freshman forward
Mitch Kontny led all Falcons with four shots on goal through two periods, while freshman forward's
Ryan Doner and
Christian George had three each.
The Falcons finally got the puck past Belfour at the 6:12 mark of the third period as Kontny scored his second goal of the weekend to tie the contest. Kontny picked up a loose puck in the offensive zone and banged it past Belfour. His seventh goal of the season was an unassisted tally, which also put him in a tie for second place on the team with
Blake Huppert.
Lewan was required to make 10 saves after Kontny's tying goal, while the Falcons fired just one shot on goal after the 6:12 mark. Third period shots on goal were 13-5, in favor of UW-Superior. Lewan played another fantastic period of hockey for the Falcons. Shots after regulation were 33-30 Yellowjackets, giving Lewan 70 saves through six periods on the weekend.
UW-River Falls outshot the Yellowjackets 3-1 in overtime, but UW-Superior's lone shot beat Lewan at 4:46 of overtime. Dalbec scored the game-winner, with assists to senior forward Michael Rey and senior defenseman Jeff Forsythe. Dalbec's goal was his team-leading ninth of the season.
Kontny, George and senior defenseman
Jeff Burke led the Falcons with five shots on goal a piece.
UW-River Falls went 0-4 on the power play, while UW-Superior finished 0-5. The Falcons are still 2-1 this season against the Yellowjackets.
The 10th nationally ranked Falcons fall to 12-6-2 overall, 4-3 in WIAC play and 8-4 on the road. UW-Superior improved to 7-11-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the WIAC, 3-5-1 at home, while breaking their two-game losing streak.
The Falcons take on the Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties next Friday evening at Hunt Arena. The puck drops at 7:05.
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