MENOMONIE, Wis. — The No. 14-ranked UW-River Falls men's hockey team defeated UW-Stout 4-3 Saturday night to prevail in the season series over the Blue Devils.
UWRF, now 8-5 overall and 4-3 in the WIAC, won its second of three games played in the regular season series against UW-Stout. All three contests were one-goal games, including a pair of overtime finishes Dec. 13-14.
The Falcons and Blue Devils went back and forth Saturday night, with UWRF taking a 2-0 lead before three-straight goals by Stout. Trailing 3-2 heading into the third period, the Falcons scored a pair of goals in just over a minute into the final frame and held on for the rest of regulation to earn the win.
After a scoreless first period,
Alex Atwill got the Falcons on the board early into the middle period with his first of two goals on the night, capitalizing on a Blue Devil turnover. Later in the period,
Jonny Meiers scored on the rush to give UWRF a two-goal advantage.
UW-Stout scored on the power play two minutes after Meiers' goal to gain momentum, scoring a couple more to claim a lead heading into the final 20 minutes, including another on the man advantage.
It took the Falcons just 22 seconds to tie the game after the second intermission as
Dylan Smith crashed the net and scored his team-leading eighth of the season. Under a minute later, Atwill scored his second of the game and fourth of the season, pouncing on a rebound after an
Aidan Torres shot from the point.
The Blue Devils, who peppered 17 shots on
Brennan Boynton in the second period, were held to just seven in the third period as the Falcon defense held strong for victory. UW-Stout pulled its goaltender Dawson Green late in regulation but to no avail.
Boynton tied a season-high with 33 saves to collect his eighth win of the season. Torres finished with a pair of assists while Meiers and Smith both had two-point nights.
Up next, UWRF has a two-game non-conference homestand next weekend, Jan. 10-11 against Bethel University and the College of St. Scholastica.
