Box Score

The 10th nationally ranked UW-River Falls men's hockey team lost a tough home game to the 6th ranked UW-Eau Claire Blugolds, 2-1, on Saturday evening despite 30 saves from senior goaltender Scott Lewan.
 
The Falcons entered the third period with a 1-0 lead, but exited with a loss that hurts their NCAA tournament chances. Nevertheless, UW-River Falls enters the WIAC tournament as the number one seed.
 
An early Falcon power play led to a Mitch Kontny rebound goal at 4:47 of the first period. The original shot came from the left boards on a Jeff Bergh snap-shot. Kontny was planted in front of freshman Blugold goaltender Jay Deo (6-0-1), found the loose puck, deked right, and lifted a wrist-shot over Deo's catching glove. Kontny's opening tally was his 10th goal of the season, second on the team. Bergh's assist was the second of his career. Freshman forward Ryan Doner earned the secondary assist, his 12th on the season.
 
Lewan's (11-5) best save of the first period came on a 3-on-2 rush for the Blugolds, as junior forward Ross Andersen sailed a hard wrist-shot that Lewan just got a piece of with his right pad. Lewan also made a nifty blocker save on Blugolds senior captain defenseman David Donnellan with 1:44 left in the first period to keep the score at 1-0. And again, 40 seconds later, Lewan flashed some leather as he gloved a wrist shot from Blugolds freshman forward Adam Knochenmus on another 3-on-2.
 
First period shots on goal were 12-10, in favor of UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds had the shot advantage, but the Falcons had the better scoring opportunities. Lewan was key in the first period, however. Bergh and senior captain defenseman Jon Schreiner led the Falcons with three shots a piece in the first.
 
The Blugolds opened the second period on the power play and Donnellan rang a point shot off the pipe, effectively keeping the game 1-0. The shot beat Lewan blocker side, but narrowly missed the mark.
 
Bergh nearly slipped a wrist-shot from the point between the legs of Deo just over six minutes into the period, which led to a fight between Falcons freshman forward Taylor Portner and Blugolds senior defenseman Alex Olson. Both players earned minor roughing penalties and 10-minute misconducts.
 
The Blugolds registered their first shot on goal at 9:30 of the second period on an Andersen backhand in transition, the shot was blocked away easily by Lewan. The Falcons opened the period with a 5-1 shot edge, and ended it with a 6-0 shot run.
 
Second period shots on goal were 13-3, in favor of UW-River Falls. The Falcons controlled the majority of play in the period, but Deo made several strong saves. An incredible individual effort from junior forward Blake Huppert led to a point-blank slot opportunity for sophomore forward Zach Schrotenboer with 25 seconds left the second frame, but Deo made a strong right pad save. Bergh's five shots led the Falcons through two periods.
 
Blugolds freshman forward Patrick Moore tied the contest at 2:03 of the third period on a rebound goal from the top of the crease. Moore's quick snap-shot beat a sliding Lewan high glove. Andersen and Knochenmus earned the assists on the even strength goal. The goal was Moore's eighth of the season.
 
The Blugolds opened the third period strong, erasing the memory of a weak second, with a 14-2 shot edge. Lewan made an amazing sprawling save to stop a streaking Jack Callahan with 13:30 left in the contest to keep the score tied at one.
 
After several minutes of extremely heavy pressure on Lewan, freshman forward Mike Fazio wristed a shot off the far post, nearly giving UW-River Falls a 2-1 lead. The shot beat Deo low blocker, but was directed wide by the iron. The Falcons settled in nicely after the near-miss.
 
But, Blugolds freshman forward David Henry scored the game-winning-goal with 1:15 left in regulation from a sharp angle. The goal, Henry's first of his career, beat Lewan glove side. The shot seemed to fool Lewan as it came from an impossible angle. Callahan and sophomore forward Charles Thauwald assisted on the goal.
 
Final shots on goal were 32-26, in favor of UW-Eau Claire. Lewan made 30 saves in a strong effort. Deo also played well, stopping 25 shots. Schrotenboer led the Falcons with six shots on goal.
 
UW-River Falls drops to 15-7-3 overall, 8-4 in the WIAC and 6-3-3 at home. UW-Eau Claire improves to 17-7-1 overall, 6-5-1 in the WIAC, 8-3-1 on the road, and snapped their three game losing streak.
 
The Falcons will be the number one seed in the WIAC tournament, while UW-Eau Claire will be the third seed.
 
The Falcons will host either UW-Stout or UW-Superior next Friday and Saturday in the WIAC semifinals. Both games will be played at 7 p.m. UW-Stout and UW-Superior face-off on Tuesday in Superior, Wis., with the winner earning a trip to River Falls.
 
Box Score