RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The No. 1-ranked UW-River Falls women's hockey team began a two-game weekend series with a 4-1 win over UW-Stevens Point Friday night at Hunt Arena,
The Falcons, now 22-1 overall and 9-1 in WIAC play, controlled play from the opening faceoff, finishing with a commanding 65-14 shot on goal advantage with four different scorers.
UWRF opened the scoring at 6:10 of the first period when Megan Goodreau tallied her team-leading 28th goal of the season off assists from Sophia Hess and Alexa Niccum. Just 3:22 later, Niccum added to the lead with an unassisted marker at 9:32, a goal that would stand as the game-winner. UWRF carried the 2-0 advantage into the first intermission after outshooting the Pointers 13-5 in the opening frame.
Despite a scoreless second period, River Falls continued to apply pressure, outshooting Stevens Point 19-6 in the stanza and limiting quality chances at the other end.
The Falcons capitalized on special teams early in the third. With the Pointers assessed back-to-back penalties, Hess found the back of the net on the power play at 8:47, finishing a sequence by Brooklyn Riley and Goodreau. The goal marked Hess's 20th of the season and pushed the lead to 3-0. UWRF added another at 12:22 of the third when Kylie Jones scored off assists from Gracyn Knowles and Madison Kadrlik to make it 4-0.
Stevens Point spoiled the shutout late, as Claire Riestenberg scored at 18:23 of the final period on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box, but the Falcons' defensive effort remained steady throughout.
Jordan O'Kane earned the win in goal, stopping 13 of 14 shots. Hess (1g, 1a), Goodreau (1g, 1a) and Niccum (1g, 1a) each recorded multi-point performances. Hess also dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 20 of 27 draws, while Knowles went 10-for-11.
The Falcons host the Pointers again tomorrow during Senior Day with a 2:05 p.m. puck drop at Hunt Arena.
