ST. PAUL, Minn. — Freshman forward
Ben Portner buried a power play goal 3:46 into overtime as the UW-River Falls men's hockey team edged Hamline 4–3 on Friday night, earning its second win of the season in dramatic fashion.
After the Falcons built a 2-0 lead through two periods, Hamline stormed back with three goals in the third to force extra time. But UWRF made the most of its fifth power play opportunity in the extra frame, with Alex Atwill and Gavin Middendorf setting up Jones for the game-winner.
Ben Portner opened the scoring midway through the second period with his first of the night, finishing off a setup from Keenan Ingram and Middendorf for his second goal of the season. Middendorf added a power-play tally at 18:39 of the second, assisted by Luke Margenau and Atwill, to make it 2-0 heading into the break.
Hamline cut the lead in half early in the third with a power-play goal from Will Matzke, but Burke Simpson responded just over two minutes later on a feed from Atwill. The Pipers then scored twice to even the game at 3-3 late in regulation.
In overtime, the Falcons capitalized on a two-man advantage, as Atwill's cross-ice pass found Jones on the back door for the winner.
Atwill recorded three helpers on the night, while Ingram had a pair.
Senior goaltender Brennan Boynton earned the victory with 19 saves, improving to 2-1 on the season.
Both teams finished 2-for-5 on the power play and the Falcons outshot the Pipers 30-22.
The Falcons (2-1, 0-0 WIAC) return to action tomorrow with another nonconference road game at Gustavus Adolphus College.
