RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-River Falls men's hockey hockey won 5-1 over Northland College Saturday night during its regular season finale, earning a weekend sweep over the Lumberjacks.
The Falcons wrapped up the regular season on a four-game winning streak, finishing with an 11-13-1 overall record and 5-9-1 WIAC ledger, and are slotted at the No. 5 seed for the WIAC Playoffs/Commissioner's Cup. UWRF will face No. 4 seed UW-Stout Feb. 17-18 in Menomonie, Wis.
Leading 1-0 after the first period, the Falcons scored four-straight goals in the third period to put the game out of reach, including back-to-back power play tallies and a shorthanded goal.
After a scoreless first period,
Noah Roofe opened the game's scoring near the midway point of the game, waiting out a Lumberjack defender before sniping home his sixth goal of the season and second of the weekend, assisted by his linemates Vilho Saariuloma and
Dylan Smith.
UWRF led 1-0 after two periods and not long into the third frame, extending its lead to 2-0 after
Josh Martin from below the goal line banked a shot off Northland goaltender Kenny Vought for his third goal of the season and second of the weekend.
Just under four minutes into the third, Northland was assessed a five-minute major penalty, in which the Falcons capitalized, with
Owen Belisle and
Matt Clark scoring on the power play, Clark's first as a Falcon.
Peter Grytdahl, one of five seniors celebrated on Senior Night, finished off a nice shorthanded effort from fellow senior classmate
Sam Anzai.
Northland broke the shutout late in regulation with a power play goal.
Noah Roofe and
Dylan Smith each had two assists while
Dysen Skinner made 15 saves for the win in net, improving his record to 9-8.
