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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Michael Rey
Jed Carlson-Superior Telegram

Men's Hockey

River Falls starts quick, routs Yellowjackets

Michael Rey had the only goal of the game for the Yellowjackets in a 5-1 loss at RIver Falls on Friday.
Box Score

River Falls 5, Yellowjackets 1

About the only thing colder than the outside temperature on Friday night was the play of the Yellowjackets in the first period at River Falls.

Coming into the game, Yellowjacket Head Coach Dan Stauber iterated to his team that they needed to weather the early storm that River Falls was certain to throw its way, and if they could weather said storm they stood a very good chance of coming home victorious.

River Falls threw a storm the Yellowjackets' way, all right, but weather it they did not. The Falcons scored early and often, finding the net four times in the opening period on their way to a 5-1 win at W.H. Hunt Arena in River Falls on Friday night.

The Falcons opened the scoring just 1:32 into the contest when Blake Huppert stickhandled around a defender in the left circle and broke in alone on Dayn Belfour (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate), firing a shot past him to make it a 1-0 lead. Later in the period the Falcons added to the lead with a pretty power play goal. Jeff Burke had the puck at the blue line and fed Huppert in the left circle, who centered to a wide open Willie Hess and he slid it into an open net to make it a 2-0 lead.

Late in the period the Falcons blew the game open with a pair of goals 44 seconds apart. With the Yellowjackets on the power play, Hess picked up the puck in his own zone on the right side and drove toward the net, taking it from his forehand to the backhand and chipping it past Belfour to score unassisted and make it 3-0. Seconds later, a Yellowjacket turnover ended up on the stick of Taylor Burden and he fed Zach Schrotenboer a pass that he one-timed past Belfour to increase the advantage to 4-0 with 1:14 to go in the first period.

At the end of the period the Yellowjackets lifted Belfour in favor of Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I). Belfour finished the night allowing four goals on ten shots, but at times there was little he could do as the Falcons pressed.

Things changed in the second period. For starters the officials began calling penalties at a rate unseen so far in the season, giving each team several power play chances in the period. The Yellowjackets, meanwhile, came out with a renewed sense of urgency and played markedly better than they did in the first. They were finally able to break through, capitalizing on one of the aforementioned power plays.

The Yellowjackets applied pressure and put many pucks toward the Falcon goal, only to have them turned away time and again. They broke the shutout when Jeff Forsythe (Campbell River, British Columbia/Timberline Secondary) took a shot from the blue line that was blocked, but it caromed to Cody Hotchkin (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld). Hotchkin chipped a pass to the left of the goal where Michael Rey (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Garden City Collegiate) was all alone and he poked it home for his third of the year, making it 4-1 at 10:23.

Throughout the rest of the period the Yellowjackets continued to press and outshot the Falcons 10-4 in the period, but one goal was all they could muster and they trailed by three after two periods.

Pressure continued in the third period and in one shift the Yellowjackets directed a handful of shots on goal, but each time Tanner Milliron denied them. The Falcons closed out the scoring at 11:39 of the third period when a blocked shot found Hess, and he sprang Huppert in on the breakaway. Huppert's wrister beat Strandberg between the pads, making the final score 5-1.

Hess and Huppert enjoyed big games, pacing the Falcon offense with two goals and two assists each on the night.

Milliron picked up his second win of the season, improving to 2-0-1 by making 28 saves on the night as the Yellowjackets outshot the Falcons 29-25. Strandberg stopped 14-of-15 shots he faced in two periods.

Each team was called for nine penalties in the game, totaling 18 minutes. The Yellowjackets went 1-for-8 on the power play, while the Falcons were 1-for-7.

The Yellowjackets (4-6-0, 0-1-0 WIAC) return home on Saturday night when they will host defending NCAA Champion UW-Eau Claire at Wessman Arena. The opening face-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Yellowjacket Athletics is asking fans who attend to bring a new, unopened toy to be donated to the 2013 Toys For Tots toy drive. All toys collected will be donated to the Superior Fire Department, who in turn will give them to area families who cannot afford to purchase gifts for their children during the holidays. Toys can be donated upon entrance to Wessman Arena. Saturday's game can be heard live locally on 91.3 FM KUWS beginning with the pre-game show around 6:45 p.m. If you are outside the local listening area you can tune in on the Internet through the iFan Sports Network or via the web stream of KUWS. You can also watch the game live via pay-per-view through UW-Superior's online content provider, AmericaOne Sports. Jon Garver will have the call.
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