The sixth nationally ranked UW-River Falls men's hockey team defeated the UW-Stout Blue Devils 3-2 on Friday, Feb. 13, thanks to goals by Christian George, Ryan Doner and Kyle Gattelaro.

With a UW-Stevens Point loss to UW-Eau Claire tonight, the Falcons are only one game out of the first place in the WIAC with three games left in the regular season.

Falcons sophomore forward George opened the scoring at 6:40 of the first period on a shot that beat Blue Devils sophomore goaltender Spencer Viele (4-9-1). George's eighth goal of the season was assisted by freshman forward Gattelaro and junior captain defenseman Alex Murphy. Gattelaro's assist was his eighth of the season, while Murphy upped his total to five.

Doner doubled the lead to 2-0 with a power play goal just 65 seconds later. Doner's seventh goal of the season was assisted by freshman defenseman Terry Leabo. Leabo is now tied for first on the team with 10 assists.

Blue Devils leading scorer Justin Moody cut the deficit in half with his 10th goal of the season on a shot that beat Falcons junior goaltender Tanner Milliron (17-4-1). Moody's goal at 13:48 was unassisted.

A wide-open first period ended with a 2-1 UWRF lead. The Falcons scored on the only first period power play. UWRF outshot Stout 17-13 in the first, while winning 14 of 21 face-offs. Sophomore forward Cory Lushanko led the Falcons with three shots on goal in the first.

The second period ended scoreless. The Falcons outshot Stout 10-6 in the second period. Both teams went 0-1 on the power play in the second. Murphy led UWRF with four shots through two periods.

Gattelaro nailed down the win with 5:15 left in the third period. His 11th goal of the season was assisted by George. George earned his sixth assist of the season on the goal, and his second point of the evening. Through 15 games, George has 14 points. Gattelaro leads UWRF with 19 points in 22 games.

Moody scored his second goal of the night with 17 seconds left in the game as the Blue Devils pulled Viele for an extra attacker. Assists were credited to Sand and junior defenseman Danny Ray.

UWRF outshot Stout 36-33 on the night. UWRF finished 1-2 on the power play. Murphy led UWRF with five shots on goal.

UWRF improves to 17-4-1 overall, 6-3 in the WIAC, 7-2 on the road, and now has a three-game winning streak. Stout falls to 8-13-1 overall, 3-6 in the WIAC, 6-5 at home, and has a three-game losing streak.

UWRF is now 2-0 against the Blue Devils this season. The Falcons also defeated Stout 7-3 on Dec. 4 in River Falls, Wisconsin. UWRF is 71-21-1 all-time against the Blue Devils.

The Falcons battle the Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Menomonie, Wisconsin, in the final matchup of the regular season between the two rivals.

Box Score