Box Score

The 10th nationally ranked UW-River Falls men's hockey team clinched the number one seed for next week's WIAC tournament with a wild 5-4 win over 3rd ranked UW-Stevens Point Pointers on Thursday evening.
 
The Pointers entered the contest not allowing more than four goals in one game all season. The Falcons equaled that total in the second period alone. The Pointers had allowed four goals four times this season, going 2-1-1 in those contests.
 
The Falcons scored just two goals in 120 minutes against UW-Stevens Point in a late January home series, but tallied five in 60 minutes tonight. The Pointers never led at any point as UW-River Falls had 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, 5-3 and 5-4 leads.
 
Falcons senior forward Alec Hagaman played the hero, scoring two huge goals to put UW-River Falls ahead 3-2 and 4-3. Hagaman's late-season resurgence has been huge for the first place Falcons. Senior goaltender Scott Lewan (11-4) also had a big performance, stopping 34 shots.
 
Falcons freshman forward Cory Lushanko opened the scoring at 1:12 of the first period, as he slipped behind a defender and was fed nicely by line-mate Mike Fazio. Lushanko's third career goal beat Pointers junior goaltender Brandon Jaeger (16-3-1) low blocker side. Fazio's assist was his second career helper.
 
UW-River Falls opened the period with a 6-0 shot advantage, despite two early pipes for the Pointers from junior defenseman Kyle Brodie and freshman forward Lawrence Cornellier.
 
The Falcons nearly doubled their lead on a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush for junior forward Blake Huppert, but Jaeger made the chest save. Lewan also had to make a 3-on-1 save on Pointers sophomore forward Joe Kalisz.
 
Pointers freshman forward Kyle Sharkey tied the contest at one with 41 seconds left in the first period on UW-Stevens Point's third power play of the period. Brodie and junior forward Garrett Ladd assisted Sharkey's 12th goal of the season. Sharkey beat Lewan five-hole after beating a Falcon defender in transition.
 
First period shots on goal were 12-9, in favor of UW-Stevens Point. Lewan was strong, making 11 saves. Junior forward Willie Hess and sophomore forward Zach Schrotenboer led the Falcons with two shots each in the first.
 
Hess put the Falcons back in front with an early second period goal at 1:48. Freshman forward Mitch Kontny maneuvered into the offensive zone and found a streaking Hess, who sliced it by Jaeger. Hess' goal was his team-leading 11th of the season; Kontny's assist was number six.
 
Sharkey notched his second goal of the game at 4:56 of the second period after a strong fore-check from the Pointer forwards. Brodie found a wide-open Sharkey on the doorstep, for his second assist of the game. Kalisz also earned a helper on Sharkey's 13th career tally.
 
Hagaman scored on a breakaway goal to put the Falcons ahead for the third time of the game at 7:47 of the second period. Just seven seconds after a Jeff Burke penalty expired, Hagaman was fed by Hess and walked in all alone on Jaeger and buried it with authority. Hagaman's goal was his seventh; Hess' assist was number eight.
 
Then the Falcons and Pointers exchanged three goals in one minute and 40 seconds.
 
Kalisz tied the game at three with 9:47 left in the second period with assists to Sharkey and junior defenseman Justin Hale. The goal was Kalisz's 11th of the year, but Hagaman and the Falcons were not phased.
 
Hagaman's second goal of the evening and eighth of the season put UW-River Falls in front for the fourth time of the evening just 31 seconds later. Freshman forward Christian George and Huppert earned assists; George's team-leading 14th and Huppert's 12th.
 
The Falcons were not done as Kontny poked a power play goal underneath Jaeger to push the lead to 5-3. Freshman forward Ryan Doner earned an assist, his 11th. Kontny's goal was number nine on the year, best among Falcon freshman. The time of the goal was 11:53.
 
Kalisz popped another goal past Lewan with 1:58 left in the wild second period. The tally was scored with the net off its moorings, but the referees awarded the Pointers a goal. Kalisz's 12th goal was assisted by Ladd.
 
Shots on goal in the second period were 17-7, in favor of UW-Stevens Point, but the Falcons outscored the Pointers 4-3. Jaeger made just three saves on seven shots. Hess and Hagaman led the Falcons with three shot each through two periods.
 
The third period slowed done quite a bit, as UW-River Falls started clogging the neutral zone while Lewan made several clutch saves. Hagaman nearly netted another hat-trick with a late 3-on-0 rush that was stuffed by Jaeger.
 
Third period shots on goal were 9-5, in favor of UW-Stevens Point. Hagaman led the Falcons with six shots on goal for the game. Kalisz led the Pointers with 10 shots.
 
UW-River Falls improved to 15-6-3 overall, 8-3 in the WIAC, 9-4 on the road and have won three straight. UW-Stevens Point falls to 18-4-2 overall, 6-4-1 in the WIAC and 10-2-2 at home.
 
The Falcons finish the regular season at home against the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (16-7-1) on Saturday evening at 7:05 p.m.
 
Box Score