RIVER FALLS, Wis. – (uwrfsports.com) – The UW-River Falls women's hockey team hosted St. Thomas in the preliminary round of the NCAA Tournament.  The Falcons got three goals from their defensemen, including two from Haley Nielsen to back up a strong performance from goalie Angie Hall to eliminate the Tommies 4-1 at Hunt arena Friday night. 
 
The Falcons came out flying in the first period on Friday night.  The Falcons sustained early pressure in the offensive end, but did not generate quality scoring chances early.  The Tommie defense got caught in their own end but kept the Falcons to the outside of the rink. 
 
The Falcon pressure finally paid off halfway through the period when Leah Schwartzman was called for holding behind the Tommie net.  The Falcons would go on the first power play of the game.
 
On the ensuing power play the Falcons could not get set up in the offensive end for more than a couple of seconds, they fired a couple of shots wide of the Tommie net and the penalty killers for the Tommies kept the Falcons off the scoreboard, keeping the score tied at 0.
 
At the 12:07 mark of the period the Tommies would get their chance to go on the power play when Dani Buehrer was called for tripping in neutral ice. 
 
The Falcon penalty killers would be up to the challenge and killed off the Tommie power play by blocking a few shot attempts and Angie Hall made a couple saves. 
 
After the power play was over, the Falcons once again dominated the puck possession and the pace of play.  The Falcons spent most of the period in the Tommie end, firing shots just wide of the net.  The Falcons generated a 2 on 1 odd man rush late in the period, but could not find the back of the net.
 
The first period would end with the score tied at 0-0.  Both teams managed to register 5 shots on goal, with the Falcons blocking 4 shots and the Tommies blocking 7.
 
The Falcons wasted little time in the second period to break the scoreless tie.  29 seconds into the second period Haley Nielsen took a shot from the point that redirected off of someone infront and beat the Tommie net minder to put the Falcons up 1-0.  The goal was Nielsen's 2^nd of the season.
 
The Falcons would get a great chance to add to their lead at the 3:10 mark of the period when St. Thomas' Becca Zarembinski was called for cross-checking.  The Falcons once again would struggle to get set up on the power play, due to the good work by the Tommie penalty killers.  The Falcons would be unable to push their lead to 2 on the power play.
 
The Falcons would get another opportunity to add to their lead at the 7:06 mark of the period when the Tommie bench would get a minor penalty for an unsportsmanlike conduct.  The Falcons would get setup and sustain some pressure in the offensive end, but the Tommie netminder was up to the challenge making a couple of huge saves to keep her team down just 1.
The Tommies would tie the game at 1, at the 12:36 mark of the period when Hannah Bird pucked up a loose puck in front of the Falcon net and beat Angie Hall.  The goal was her second of the season.
 
The Falcons would answer the Tommie goal at the 15:06 mark of the period, when Haley Nielsen again took another shot from the point and it appeared to redirect in front once again and find the back of the net, putting the Falcons up 2-1.  The goal was her second of the game and her third of the season.
 
The Falcons penalty killers would be tested at the 15:50 mark when Carly Moran was called for hooking.  The Tommies sustained good pressure on their power play, but the Falcons killed the penalty off and generated two quality scoring chances while shorthanded. 
 
The period ended with the Falcons leading 2-1.   The Tommies out shot the Falcons 15-11 in the second period. 
 
The Falcons began the third period with sustained offensive zone pressure, looking to increase their lead to 2.  The sustained pressure paid off at the 2:19 mark of the period when St. Thomas was called for hooking.
 
The Falcons would take advantage of the powe play this time.  Just over 1 minute into the power play Dani Sibley passed the puck cross ice to Lydia Wagner who found Chloe Kinsel in front of the Tommie net and Kinsel slid the puck past the Tommie netminder to put the Falcons up 3-1.  The goal was Kinsel's 25^th of the season.
 
The game would get a little physical at the 3:29 mark of the period when Carina Randazzo of River Falls and Becca Zarembinski of St. Thomas collided at center ice.  Both players were called for roughing, but Zarembinski got an extra two minutes for a high stick that hit Randazzo in the head.
 
The Falcons would take advantage of the power play just as time expired at the 5:29 mark of the period.  Paige Johnson took a shot from the point that deflected high up in the air and beat the Tommie netminder.  The Falcons were up 4-1 and the Tommies took their timeout.
 
After the timeout St. Thomas would sustain some good offensive pressure of their own looking to get back into the game.  Their momentum was stopped at the 7:58 mark of the period when Kaylee Druk took a two minute penalty for slashing the goaltender.
 
The Falcons would pressure once again on the power play but would not be able to add to their lead.  The Falcon penalty killers would be tested at the 12:44 mark of the period when the Tommies got a break away and Carina Randazzo took a hooking penalty.
 
The Falcon penalty killers were up for the challenge as they kept the Tommies from generating any quality scoring chances, and when they did try to get the puck to the net, the defensemen blocked the shots.  Just over a minute into the Tommie power play, Tori Bailey was called for high sticking and it led to 4 on 4 hockey. 
 
The Falcons would go on a brief power play after the 4 on 4 ended but could not add to their lead and were content to run some clock being up 3 goals. 
 
The Falcon penalty killers would be tested again at the 15:29 mark of the period when Ashley Effertz was called for roughing.  The Tommies put their best power play together and generated a few scoring chances only to be stopped by Falcon goalie Angie Hall. 
 
The Falcons held onto their 3 goal lead and won the game by a score of 4-1.  Angie Hall made 30 saves to get the win for the Falcons.
 
The Falcons will move on to play in the frozen four next Friday and Saturday.  The time and place of those games is to be determined.