Another year of Falcon men's hockey is on tap as UWRF opens its 2013-14 season this weekend hosting two MIAC teams at Hunt Arena.

Steve Freeman, who is in his 18^th season as head coach of the team, has 14 returning players to build this year's team around. Also on the roster are 14 first-year players.

One big change for the Falcon hockey program is that they will not be competing in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. All five WIAC teams will now compete in only the WIAC. UWRF was a charter member in the NCHA and started play in the league in 1980 and won three championships (1988, 1996, 2007).

In the WIAC the Falcons own the most league championships of any team with 15. The WIAC's first year of hockey was 1982 and the Falcons won the first seven league crowns. UWRF has won two of the last four league titles (2010, 2012). The league teams will play each other three times making a 12-game schedule for 2013-14.

One of the team's strengths is in goal where three-year starter Scott Lewan returns for his senior season. He has been named to the All-WIAC first team the past two seasons and was the team's MVP in 2012 when he had a 16-9-2 record. Last year he finished 13-11-4 with a 2.89 goals against average and a .906 saves percentage. He has played 93 percent of the team's minutes in goal the past three seasons. In his career he has played in 80 games, is 38-31-8 with a 2.58 goals against average and a .915 saves percentage. He has recorded six career shutouts.

"We feel pretty confident that Scott will keep adding to his illustrious career this year," said Freeman. "It's reassuring for a coach to know that there is an experienced goalie with the abilities Scott has."

Defensively the Falcons return five veterans to build around - Jeff Burke, Jon Schreiner, Tyler Briola, Tyler Briola and Cody Kohn. Burke scored two goals and 12 points, Schreiner five goals and 11 points and Kohn two goals last year. "I think all successful teams build from the back to the front and our three returnees are working well with our newcomers," said Freeman, who has a 305-156-37 career record at UWRF.

Freeman believes the Falcons also have some talented forwards back. Leading the way are Willie Hess, Zach Schrotenboer, Blake Huppert and Alec Hagaman. Hess is the team's top returning scorer – he finished 10-7-17 last year. Schrotenboer was the team's top-scoring freshman going 8-8-16. Huppert was 5-11-16 and Hagaman finished 7-8-15.

"We must get contributions from our young players in order to have success. This year's incoming players are bigger and quicker and play with a little more of edge. We hope to be a little more physical this year," said Freeman.

"Coach (Bob) Ritzer did a nice job on the recruiting trail and brought in some highly sought after players. We are well rounded with not just talent, but size, that we've been lacking in past years. The new players are hungry to contribute and the enthusiasm level is high," said Freeman.

The Falcons will play 13 non-conference games this year, up from the seven games played while a member of the NCHA. "We will play a variety of teams this year, which will make it interesting for fans and tougher for coaches to prep for more teams," said Freeman. "Playing so many teams will make for a good measuring stick for where we are in this part of the country. We are looking forward to the challenge."

Freemen mentioned that he is pleased with the fitness level of this year's team. "They came into the season in great shape and have made some more strides working with (Athletic Performance Coach) Carmen Pata. The team has a high compete level."

The Falcons open their schedule with three straight home games, but then are on the road for eight of the next nine contests. UWRF plays seven MIAC teams this year. The weekend of Jan. 10-11 the Falcons host former NCHA rivals St. Norbert and St. Scholastica at Hunt Arena. The Falcons play last year's NCAA National Champions, UW-Eau Claire, three times. The Falcons are at UWEC on Jan. 24-25 and host the Blugolds in the final game of the regular season on Feb. 22.

On Friday the Falcons host Concordia-Moorhead and on Saturday they host Hamline University. Those two teams have already played twice with C-M holding a 2-0 record and HU is 0-2. All home games start at 7:05 p.m.