River Falls, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) – In the final game of the regular season,
Dani Sibley had her stick involved in all five goals, and the UW-River Falls women's hockey team broke the regular season record for wins with a 5-3 victory of the College of St. Scholastica.
THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 5, St. Scholastica 3
Location: Hunt Arena, River Falls, Wisconsin
Record: UWRF: 23-2 (7-2 WIAC), St. Scholastica 11-10-2 (8-6-2 NCHA)
WHAT HAPPENED
- Sibley was involved with all five Falcon goals in the game, assisting on four goals, and scoring one herself to finish with five points. With the five points, Sibley now has 54 points this season, which is a new single season record previously held by Chloe Kinsel.
- Carly Moran buried the first UWRF goal at 6:44 in the first period. Her goal was assisted by Sibley and Hailey Herdine.
- Herdine joined Moran in the goal column with a goal at 9:10 in the first period. Her goal came off a shifty pass from Sibley.
- The first line of UWRF continued to lead the Falcons. Another first period goal came from defenseman Paige Johnson at 11:47. Her goal was assisted by Sibley and Herdine.
- UWRF wrapped up the highlight reel first period with a fourth goal at 17:14. Moran was the one who lit the lamp, her second of the period, with the assists coming from Herdine and Sibley once again.
- Down 4-0 after the first period, St. Scholastica did not go away quietly. The Saints got on the board with a goal at 2:42. Mac Johnson was able to beat goaltender Tatyana Delaittre on an unassisted play.
- Heading into the third period, UWRF held a 4-1 lead, but the Saints were not done. Just 2:10 into the third period the Saints scored another goal, this time coming from Abby Sawyer, assisted by Greta Nundahl.
- UWRF held the two goal advantage for the next eight minutes, but a roughing penalty at 10:14 put the Saints on the power play, their second on the night. Just 45 seconds later, Alexia Klaas lit the lamp for the visiting team putting the score at 4-3 with 9:01 remaining.
- Just 1:34 later, Sibley wristed her way into the back of the net for her fifth point, and the Falcons fifth goal. The unassisted goal is her fifth of the 2016-17 season.
- Delaittre moved to 4-0 in her freshman campaign between the pipes. She made 12 saves for the Falcons.
THE OPPOSITION
- Lexi Thomeczek finished the game with a whopping 41 saves, with no less than 13 in every period. With the loss she is now 7-2 on the season.
- Klaas' goal in the third period was her team-leading, 11th goal of the season. She finished with three shots on goal.
- St. Scholastica was called for four penalties in the game, all of them being minors. The Saints were 1-3 on the power play.
LOOKING AHEAD
By winning the regular season WIAC crown, the Falcons will play host to the WIAC O'Brien Cup that is set to be hosted on February 24-25, and March 4. The Falcons will play UW-Superior (11-13, 2-7 WIAC) in the two game first round that will be played on February 24 and 25 with the start times pending.