RIVER FALLS, Wis.: For the Yellowjacket men's hockey team, Friday's game posed one of the toughest tests of the young 2019-20 season. UW-River Falls came into the game on its home ice with a 5-1-2 mark and was unbeaten in their last five. The Yellowjackets also had five wins on the year and had won three in a row, meaning Friday's contest matched up two of the hottest teams in the west.

And on this night, the Yellowjackets would keep rolling, while at the same time putting an end to the Falcons' streak. The Yellowjackets scored a goal in the first 2:30 of each period on the way to a 5-2 win at W.H. Hunt Arena.

With the win, the Yellowjackets improve to 6-1-0 overall and 2-1-0 in the WIAC, and their five points is one behind UW-Eau Claire for first place in the conference. The four-game win streak is the longest for the Yellowjackets since they won five in a row between October 27 and November 10, 2012.

The 'Jackets opened the scoring when Jordan Martin (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Vincent Massey Collegiate) punched a loose puck home just 25 seconds into the game. Martin's first goal of the year was set up by Andrew Durham (Richardson, Texas/Plano East). It stayed 1-0 until the Falcons tied it at 12:03 of the opening frame, when Josh Arnold beat Yellowjacket goaltender Oscar Svensson (Södertälje, Sweden/Haga Gymnasium) on a wrist shot from the right circle.

In the second period the 'Jackets scored three times to blow the game open. Martin scored his second of the game on the power play at the 2:30 mark to make it 2-1. Jonny Pace (Hamilton, Ontario/Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School) took the shot from the top of the right circle that Martin tipped in to give the 'Jackets a lead they wouldn't give up. Durham also assisted on the play. The Yellowjackets moved ahead by two at 12:25 of the period when Levi Cudmore (Park River, N.D./Park River) scored his second goal in as many games, driving a loose puck into the back of the net for his second goal of the year. Pace and Will Blake (Champlin, Minn./Breck) assisted.

Then late in the period Durham made it 4-1, wiring a shot from the left circle into the top corner on the power play. Pace picked up his third assist of the period on the goal, which came with just 1:53 to play in the frame.

At 2:17 of the third period the Yellowjackets delivered the knockout punch when Cudmore passed to Blake between the circles, and the sophomore one-timed a shot past Phipps for second of the season to make it a 5-1. River Falls would add a power play goal late to close out the scoring in the Yellowjacket victory.

Durham and Pace each had three-point games, while Martin, Blake and Cudmore notched two points apiece.

Svensson was solid in goal once again for the Yellowjackets, turning aside 23 shots, including 12 in the third period, to run his record to 5-1-0 on the year.

Special teams played a role as well. The Yellowjackets went 2-for-5 on the power play, while the penalty kill held the vaunted River Falls power play, which entered the game converting at a 36.1 percent clip, to one goal in five chances.