The UW-River Falls men's hockey team won its first WIAC Commissioner's Cup, and its first conference playoff title game since 1996, with a 3-1 road victory over number one seed UW-Stevens Point thanks to a two-goal third period.

"We played a very structured game and really stuck to our game plan," said Falcon Coach Steve Freeman. "We got a very high-end effort from all of the team."

UWRF now owns three conference tournament championships (1988, 1996 and 2015). After trailing 1-0 early in the contest, the Falcons ripped off three straight goals in a terrific championship performance that is likely to put UWRF into the NCAA tournament picture.

"Winning the championship is quite an accomplishment," said Freeman. "It was great to see the guys carry the trophy. That's why they came to play hockey at UWRF."

The Falcons earned the first power play of the game just 3:17 into the first period but only managed one shot on goal from junior captain defenseman Alex Murphy.

Pointers sophomore forward Kyle Sharkey opened the scoring at 10:41 of the first period with assists to sophomore Mark Bittner and senior goaltender Brandon Jaeger (21-5-1). Sharkey's opening tally was his team-leading 16th of the season.

Welcome back, Zach Schrotenboer. Schrotenboer, who has played in only two games since Dec. 5, scored his first goal of the season at 14:10 to tie the contest at one. Schrotenboer, who scored 16 points in his freshman campaign, had only one point entering tonight's championship game; his goal was unassisted.

The first period ended in a 1-1 tie. Shots in the first period were 10-10. UWRF went 0-1 on the power play in the first. Three Falcons had two shots on goal each in the first. Falcons junior goaltender Tanner Milliron (20-7-1) and Jaeger both made nine saves in the period.

The second period was scoreless. UWRF outshot the Pointers 12-9 in the period. Stevens Point earned its first power play of the game with one second left in the second period. Schrotenboer led UWRF with five shots through two periods.

The Pointers hit the net twice on the early third period power play, but Milliron stood tall, stopping Pointers leading scorer Joe Kalisz and junior defenseman Alex Brooks. Kalisz had nine of the first 22 Stevens Point shots through two and half periods.

Falcons sophomore Mike Fazio scored a shorthanded goal at 8:40 of the third period, putting the Falcons on top for the first time of the net. Fazio's eighth goal of the season was assisted by freshman defenseman Terry Leabo, who earned his team-leading 15th assist of the season. Sophomore Mike Dietrich earned the secondary assist, his seventh of the season. Fazio's go-ahead-goal was UWRF's second shorthanded goal of the season.

Dietrich doubled the lead at 15:55 of the third period with his first power play goal of his career. Dietrich's fourth goal of the season was assisted by sophomore forward Taylor Burden and sophomore forward Mitch Kontny. Burden's assist was his 13th, while Kontny upped his total to 10.

UWRF outshot Stevens Point 30-24 on the night. Schrotenboer led UWRF with five shots on goal. UWRF went 1-2 on the power play, while Stevens Point finished 0-3. 

UWRF improves to 20-7-1 overall and 10-4 on the road, snapping its one-game losing streak. Stevens Point falls to 21-6-1 overall and 11-3-1 at home, snapping its one-game winning streak.

UWRF and Stevens Point finished the season 2-2 against each other, with UWRF out-scoring the Pointers 10-9. UWRF is now 67-51-8 all-time against Stevens Point.

Box Score