RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The No. 1-ranked UW-River Falls women's hockey team continued its unbeaten start to the season Tuesday night, defeating No. 15 Saint Benedict 7-2 at Hunt Arena. Seven different Falcons found the back of the net as UWRF improves to 5-0 on the season.
The Falcons wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, capitalizing on an early power-play opportunity just 49 seconds into the contest. Madison Kadrlik opened the scoring off assists from Gracyn Knowles and Addie Seleski to give the Falcons the 1-0 advantage.
Saint Benedict responded quickly after at the 3:42 mark with a goal from Evangeline Mount to even the score at 1-1. The tie did not last long as the Falcons answered with three consecutive goals to close out the opening period.
Cahlilah Lindquist regained the lead for UWRF at 10:14, finishing a setup from Sophia Hess and Sami Pool. Just under four minutes later, Makenna Kadrlik extended the advantage to 3-1, assisted by Blake Schultz and Pool. Ella Perreault added another at 16:24, giving the Falcons a 4-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
UWRF continued their offensive production in the second frame when Alexa Niccum scored at the 11:24 mark off an assist from Knowles, extending the lead to 5-1. The Bennies answered with a goal from Emily Wendorf at 14:41, cutting the deficit to three goals entering the final period.
The Falcons added two more goals in the third period to secure the victory. Hess converted on a power-play chance at 13:57, assisted by Brooklyn Riley, before Kylie Jones capped off the scoring at 18:04 off a feed from Perreault to seal the 7-2 final.
UWRF outshot Saint Benedict 42-23 and converted on two of four power-play opportunities while holding the Bennies scoreless on three chances with the extra skater.
Pool and Knowles each recorded two assists, while Hess, Jones and Perreault finished with a goal and an assist apiece. The Falcons controlled the faceoff circle this evening as well, winning 47 of 64 draws. Knowles led the way with 18 faceoff victories, followed by Hess with 14 and Perreault with 11.
Olivia Hansen earned the victory in net, stopping 21 of 23 shots to help the Falcons remain undefeated through five games.
