RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The No. 2 seeded UW-River Falls men's hockey team opens postseason play this weekend at Hunt Arena, hosting No. 3 seeded UW-Eau Claire in the WIAC Commissioner's Cup Semifinals Feb. 25-26, 2022.
ALL INDIVIDUALS REGARDLESS OF VACCINATION STATUS ARE EXPECTED TO WEAR A FACE COVERING INSIDE THE FALCON CENTER.
"RED OUT"
- Falcon fans are encourage to wear red at Hunt Arena, including the red "GAME DAY" student shirts.
FREE UWRF STUDENT TICKETS
- Thanks to the UW-River Falls Student Government Association, ALL UW-River Falls student tickets are free for WIAC Tournament games in River Falls. Tickets are available at the door an hour before game time.
#2 UW-RIVER FALLS (13-11-1, 9-6 WIAC) VS. #3 UW-EAU CLAIRE (15-11-1, 9-6 WIAC)
Date: Friday, Feb. 25, 2022
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Site: River Falls, Wis. // Hunt Arena
Live Coverage: Stats //
Video
#2 UW-RIVER FALLS (13-11-1, 9-6 WIAC) VS. #3 UW-EAU CLAIRE (15-11-1, 9-6 WIAC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Site: River Falls, Wis. // Hunt Arena
Live Coverage: Stats //
Video
THE SERIES
- This weekend's matchups mark the 159th and 160th all-time matchup between UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire, with the Falcons holding a 97-53-7 series advantage.
- UWEC earned a 2-1 season series lead over the Falcons this year, sweeping the Falcons with a 2-1 overtime and 3-0 win Feb. 11-12 in Eau Claire, Wis. UWRF won 4-3 over the Blugolds on Dec. 4 in River Falls.
- Since the Commissioner's Cup's inception in 2014, UWRF has a postseason tournament record of 7-13-2, and is 1-3 against UWEC.
- The two teams most recently met during the WIAC Tournament in 2017, with the Blugolds winning a pair during a semifinal matchup.
- The Falcons and Blugolds also met during the semifinals in 2015, and UWRF advanced to the league championship with a penalty shot goal during a "mini-game" to give the Falcons a 2-1 triumph.
FALCON NOTES
- UWRF closed out the regular season with a pair of losses at UW-Eau Claire while earning a point in the WIAC standings on Friday with an overtime loss. The Falcons then received the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the WIAC Tournament.
- During nine conference games, UWRF went 9-6 and ranked fourth in the WIAC with 2.73 goals per game. While the Falcons led the league with 5.6 penalties per game, they ranked second with a .885 success rate on the penalty kill.
- Noah Ganske, Cayden Cahill, and Noah Roofe finished second through fourth, respectively, in WIAC scoring during league competition.
- Noah Ganske was the top-scoring defenseman in the league with 14 points (5g-9a) in 12 games played. Versus UW-Superior on Feb. 4, Ganske scored a hat-trick to lead the Falcons to a 4-3 comeback win over the Yellowjackets and was named the WIAC Player of the Week.
- The Falcons' offense has been balanced this season, with six players with at least four goals, led by seven each from Ganske and Roofe.
- Sophomore goaltender Dysen Skinner has taken the reins in net during the second half of the season, starting in 11 of 13 games since January. He owns a .909 save percentage and 2.29 goals against average.
