EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The UW-River Falls men's hockey team erased a third-period deficit and forced overtime Friday night, but UW-Eau Claire escaped with a 4-3 overtime win.
After trailing 3-1 midway through the third period, the Falcons mounted a comeback. Ben Portner pulled UWRF within one at 14:08 of the third, scoring on the power play by deflecting a shot from the point by Luke Margenau. The Falcons continued to press late and was rewarded with the equalizer when Margenau scored with just 7.4 seconds remaining, finishing an extra-attacker goal assisted by Ingram and Max Collette to send the game to overtime.
UWEC opened the scoring late in the first period and carried a 2-1 advantage into the second intermission. Gavin Middendorf got the Falcons on the board at 16:20 of the second period to cut the deficit to one. The Blugolds pushed their lead back to two early in the third before UWRF's late rally flipped the momentum.
The Falcons outshot the Blugolds 37-28 for the game and went 1-for-2 on the power play, while holding Eau Claire scoreless on three power play opportunities. Brennan Boynton made 24 saves in net, helping keep the Falcons within striking distance throughout the contest.
The game was decided 2:02 into overtime when Luke Lavery scored the game-winner for the Blugolds.
While earning a point in the WIAC standings, the Falcons, now 11-10-1 overall and 5-7 during conference play, face the Blugolds again tomorrow night at Hobbs Ice Arena with a 7 p.m. puck drop.
