Box Score

River Falls, Wis. (uwrfsports.com)- For the second time in as many months, the UW-River Falls men's hockey team squared off against Hamline University, as the Pipers visited Hunt Arena Tuesday evening. The two teams battled evenly all night before the contest ended in a 3-3 overtime tie.
 
Tight checking and a physical start to the game kept things quiet for a good portion of the first period. Both defenses held strong until Falcon senior Mike Williams netted his first goal of the season at the 8:56 mark. Williams corralled a bouncing puck in front of the goal and put it past Hamline goaltender Justin Quale to put the Falcons ahead 1-0.
 
River Falls kept the pressure on after the goal, creating numerous scoring chances. The tight checking and very physical action carried on until a minor penalty for interference was called on Hamline's Russ Jordan 12 minutes into the first period. The Falcons generated a few scoring chances on the power play, but were unable to find the back of the net.
 
Seconds after the power play ended, UW-River Falls' Kyle Gattelaro was penalized for holding, sending the Pipers on the power play. While killing the penalty, the Falcons were called for a second penalty, leading to a 54 second two-man advantage for the Pipers. Hamline was able to take advantage of the lopsidedness, scoring with just 17 seconds left in the power play. Charlie Adams scored on the one-timer set up by teammate Brandon Zurn, knotting the score at 1-1 with 3:19 left in the first period.
 
The Falcons managed to kill the rest of the power play with good pressure and with less than a minute left in the first period, Hamline's Jordan was whistled again, this time for elbowing, setting up the Falcons for their second power play of the game. They wasted little time on the ensuing face off, as UWRF took control of the puck and worked it into the slot, where freshman forward Eddie Matsushima slipped a shot right past Quale, putting the Falcons up 2-1. Gattelaro was credited with the assist.
 
The second period started in similar fashion as the first, with the Falcons putting pressure on the Pipers. The checking and physicality picked up at the beginning of the second period as both teams settled into their defensive schemes. Hamline picked up the pressure in the offensive zone, as Falcon goaltender Tanner Milliron was forced to make save after save midway through the period. The Falcons answered with a couple of good scoring chances of their own but the score remained 2-1 halfway through the second stanza.
 
With 6:40 left in the second period the speed and aggressiveness of Matsushima drew a penalty on Hamline's Cody Bentzel for holding. The Falcons went on the power play looking to grab a two goal lead but the Pipers were able to kill off the power play.
 
Gaining momentum from the penalty kill, the Pipers spent most of the next 3 minutes in the Falcon end, with Milliron and the defense answering the call. With 2:12 left in the period Hamline's Jaycob McCombs was sent to the box for cross-checking as the Falcons went on another power play. UWRF was unable to capitalize on the power play and the second period ended with the Falcons leading 2-1.
 
Less than a minute into the third period Falcon Michael Lant was called for hooking and the Pipers went on the man advantage. The Falcons were successful in killing off the penalty with good goaltending and team defense, holding the Pipers to only one quality chance. 
 
Two minutes after killing the power play, UWRF scored to go ahead 3-1. Matsushima took the puck from deep in Falcon territory, rushed up the ice and found fellow freshman Joe Drapluk, who then buried a shot on the short side from the right circle.
 
The Pipers would not go down without a fight, as Adams found the back of the net for the second time in the contest at the 7:19 mark of the third period, making it 3-2 in River Falls' favor.
 
After the Pipers pulled within one, the game tightened up because both teams knew the next goal would be critical. With 8:27 left in the third period Matsushima was whistled for holding, granting the Pipers another power play. The Pipers took 1:16 on the power play to even things up. Piper Jesse Keppler found the top of the net off a pass from Zurn to tie the game at 3-3.
 
Despite a last second breakaway chance for the Falcons, things remained tied at the end of regulation. At 3:42 in the overtime, Hamline's Kevin Novacovick was called for tripping and the Falcons went on the power play.  The Falcon power play only lasted one minute as they were called for too many men on the ice at the 2:42 mark. The penalty led to 4-on-4 hockey for one minute. At the end of the 4-on-4 the Falcons nearly ended it, but the shot trickled just wide. The two teams traded penalties with each team killing off power plays to end the contest in a 3-3 draw.
 
Hamline held a 38-29 edge in shots, as Milliron stopped 35 shots for the Falcons. Faceoffs were even, with both teams tallying 36.
 
UW-River Falls returns to action Friday night at Hunt Arena when they play host to Finlandia University. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.

Video Highlights Courtesy of Kelsey Tyznik: UWRF Men's Hockey vs Hamline Dec. 8, 2015