The Falcon men's hockey team was defeated by UW- Stout by a score of 4-3 after giving up three consecutive goals in the third period.
The Falcons came into Menomonie hoping to extend their two game winning streak as they faced off against their conference rivals. Both teams came out with a great defensive performances in the first period to keep the game scoreless. The Falcons maintained great possession of the puck as they prevented the Blue Devils from getting a single shot on goal for the entirety of the first period. River Falls had 14 shots on goal, all saved by Tom Lescovich.
Ben Beaudoin (Inver Grove Heights, MN, Southern Minnesota, NAHL) put the first goal on the scoreboard at 7:33 in the second period. The goal was Beaudoin's fifth of the season, and he was assisted by Alec Hagaman (Peoria, IL, Topeka, NAHL). Hagaman extended the Falcon lead to two goals after sinking a shot on Lescovich at 13:12. Geoff Shewmake (Chicago, IL, Bradford, GMHL) was awarded the assist.
Branden Gay scored the first Blue Devil goal of the game at 15:07 in the second period on a power play opportunity following a slashing penalty on Ryan Goodmanson (Clear Lake, Kenai River, NAHL). Gay was assisted by Kevin O'Donnell.
Falcon goaltender Scott Lewan (Westland, MI, Alberni Valley, BCHL) faced 11 shots in the period and made 10 saves. Liscovich made seven saves on nine shots.
Justin Brossman (Littleton, CO, Sioux City, USHL) started the third period off with a bang after scoring a power play goal at 3:24 in response to a slashing penalty on Chris Stafne. Brossman, currently tied for first with Josh Calleja for points scored this season, was assisted by Jason Yuel (Winnipeg, MAN, Prince George, BCHL).
Stout struck back hard in front of the 613 fans in attendance at Dunn County Ice Arena. Jesse Johnston scored his first goal of the season at 6:39 to cut into his teams scoring deficit. Johnston was assisted by Robb Haider. Sam Carr tied the game at 10:48 with an assist from Matt Morin.
Nolan Craner (Plainwell, MI, Alpena, NAHL) and Derek Kaiser (Crookston, MN, Alexandria, NAHL) were both cited for crucial minor penalties at 12:52 and 14:21 respectively. The Blue Devils took the lead on the consequent 5-3 power play opportunity on the stick of Gay. Gay was assisted by David Larson as Stout completed their rally by scoring three goals in under eight minutes.
Lewan made 12 saves in the third period for a total of 22 after playing 59:10. Lescovich made 11 saves in the third period for a cumulative game total of 32.
The Falcons drop to 5-6-1 on the season, going 2-5-0 in conference play. They will be facing off against Stout for the second and final game of the weekend series at Dunn County Ice Arena tomorrow night. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m.
Box Score
