RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The No. 13-ranked UW-River Falls men's hockey team defeated No. 10-ranked UW-Stevens Point 5-1 Friday evening at Hunt Arena during the WIAC opener.
The Falcons, now 5-1 overall and 1-0 during conference play, were down 1-0 before scoring five unanswered goals for the win, led by a hat trick from
Dylan Smith – the second of his career. UWRF's five goals was the program's most against the Pointers since a 6-2 win on Feb. 13, 2021 in Stevens Point.
A late flurry in the first period gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission. The Pointers opened the scoring at the 16-minute mark as Dawson Sciarrino took a quick shot after a UWSP faceoff win, but UWRF answered with a pair of goals in the final minute of the period. With 25 seconds left in the period,
Alex Davis found
Dylan Smith open on the back door to tie the game, and just 14 seconds later
Jonny Meiers forced a Pointer turnover for a 2-on-1 chance in which
Max Collette scored to give UWRF the lead.
After a scoreless middle frame, the Falcon offense broke open with three goals in the final 20 minutes. At 10:49,
Burke Simpson scored a rebound goal, and just over a minute later, Smith scored his second of the game off a nifty backhand past Pointer goaltender Ryan Maguire.
With UWRF leading 4-1 late in regulation, the Pointers pulled Maguire for the extra attacker with five minutes left in the game. The Falcon defense held strong despite the late push by UWSP, and Smith scored the empty net goal at 18:43 to seal the victory.
UWRF finished with a 25-20 lead in shots on goal while UWSP won 43 of 73 faceoffs. Both teams went 0-for-1 on the power play.
Brennan Boynton, who made his sixth consecutive start in net for the Falcons, collected 19 saves to earn his fifth win on the year.
Jonny Meiers and
Alex Atwill both had a pair of assists.
The Falcons hit the road to face Northland College tomorrow night.
