RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The No. 4 seeded UW-River Falls men's hockey team earned a 4-0 shutout over No. 5 seed UW-Stout Saturday night at Hunt Arena to advance to the WIAC Tournament Semifinals.
Coming off a 4-1 win over UW-Stout last night, UWRF (16-10-1) followed up with a shutout on Saturday and will now travel to face No. 1 seed UW-Superior next weekend, Feb. 28-March 1. It marks the second season in a row in which the Falcons swept the first round to advance to the semifinals.
Strong special teams and stellar defense led carried the Falcons to victory over the Blue Devils. UWRF killed off seven Stout power plays while scoring a pair of power play goals.
Brennan Boynton helped carry the Falcons with a career-high 36 saves while earning his second shutout of the season and
Owen Belisle scored twice, including the game-winner in the first period.
Despite being outshot 16-6 in the first period, the Falcons turned away a pair of Blue Devil power play chances and got on the board late in the frame with an
Owen Belisle wraparound goal.
The Falcons killed off another pair of Stout power play opportunities in the second while extending their lead to 2-0. At the 14:55-minute mark,
Dylan Smith scored a power play goal on his backhand and UWRF led by two heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Nine minutes into the third period, a
Jonny Meiers goal off the rush with help from Smith increased UWRF's lead to 3-0. Just over four minutes later, Belisle scored on the power play, streaking down the right wing and sniping a shot past Blue Devil goaltender Ryan Knight to give the Falcons a four-goal cushion.
Puck drops are schedule for 7:05 p.m. both nights next weekend at Wessman Arena in Superior, Wis.
