Box Score

STEVENS POINT – After trailing 2-0 entering the third period, the UW-Stevens Point men's hockey team scored three goals in the final session to knock off No. 6 UW-River Falls by a final score of 3-2 tonight at Willett Arena.

The Pointers extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games, which is the longest since the 1997-98 season. The Pointers have a record of 14-5-2 overall and 5-4-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA). The Falcons drop their second consecutive game and fall to an overall record of 14-4-3 and a NCHA record of 6-3-1.

The first period was uneventful for the first 16 minutes as there were no goals and no penalties. The Falcons changed that however when T.J. Dahl ripped one in the net to make the score 1-0 River Falls with 3:18 remaining in the period. The Falcons struck again with 41 seconds left in the period on an Alex Lundbohm goal to make the score 2-0 River Falls at the first intermission. The Falcons had a 17-6 shot advantage in the first period.

The second period was controlled by the Pointers as they had 11 shots on goal and handled the puck for most of the period on the Falcons' side of the ice. Stevens Point was unable to get the puck in the net unfortunately and the game went to the third period.

In the third period, the Pointers would breakthrough as Matt Stendahl (Forest Lake, MN/Forest Lake) (Jr.-Forest Lake, MN) started the scoring off with a nifty goal three minutes into the period to make the score 2-1. Brett Beckfeld (Plymouth, MN/Armstrong) (Jr.-Plymouth, MN/Armstrong) had the assist. The Pointers then had a potential tying goal wiped off due to a high stick. Stevens Point kept on attacking and eventually tied the contest up at 2-2 when Beckfeld snuck the puck past the goaltender with 5:39 left in regulation. This time Stendahl assisted Beckfeld. The Pointers then took the lead when on the power play Jonathan Ralph (Chester, NJ/Shattuck St. Mary's) (Jr.-Chester, NJ/Shattuck St. Mary's) went top shelf to make the score 3-2 with 2:54 remaining. Shane Foster (Madison/LaFollette) (Jr.-Madison/LaFollette) had the assist. The score held up the final couple minutes as the Pointers upset the Falcons 3-2.

Thomas Speer (Janesville/James Madison) (Fr.-Janesville/James Madison) had 32 saves to improve to 12-2-2 overall this season. He has not lost a game in his last 11 starts. Stephen Ritter had 24 saves in the loss for the Falcons. Both teams were 1-for-5 on the power play. There were 23 penalties in the contest, 18 of which in the third period alone.

The Pointers will be at home again tomorrow night when they host 12th-ranked UW-Stout. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at Willett Arena.