Box Score

BLAINE, Minn. - After two periods of play, the Bethel Royals had a 2-1 lead on the #6 ranked UW-River Falls Falcons. At the end of the third period, the score was 6-3, but it wasn't in favor of the Royals.

The Falcons' five unanswered goals all took place in the span of 11:36, whereas the Royals had done a great job of limiting them to just one goal in the first 46 minutes of play. So what happened? Tough to say. But these are the facts:

UW-River Falls took a 1-0 lead at 13:39 in the first period, only for Bethel to answer right back and tie the game within six seconds. That's right - six seconds. Kassy Sullivan (Jr., Roseville, Minn.) scored her fourth goal of the season by taking the puck off the faceoff all the way in by herself. In the second period, it took the Royals less than a minute to score and earn their first and only lead of the night. Haley Toter (So., Park Ridge, Ill.) scored with the help of Mia Kramka (Fr., Shoreview, Minn.) and Sullivan, and the two teams played a defensive battle that resulted in zero goals for the next 25-plus minutes.

Then we get to the third period, and whether or not exhaustion set in or the puck developed back-of-net seeking abilities only when touched by a Falcon skater will perhaps forever remain a mystery. The game started to unravel for Bethel, not necessarily at the 6:17 mark of the third period when River Falls scored the game-tying goal on a power play, but six seconds later when they scored the go ahead goal. That's right - six seconds. From there, the Falcons went on to score three more times before Sarah Kartak (Fr., Lakeville, Minn.) put another goal in the net for Bethel with less than a minute to play, unassisted.

Goalie Nicole Jones (So., Mora, Minn.), coming off the heels of a great performance against St. Catherine on Saturday, was the victim in the River Falls shooting spree that saw her face 53 shots, and 26 of them in the third period alone. Bethel held its ground against River Falls for the first two periods as the two teams shot the puck a nearly even number of times.

However, once again, it was penalties that did Bethel no favors. The Royals were unable to take advantage of any of the five power plays they were granted, while the Falcons scored on two of their five opportunities.

The loss drops Bethel to 5-13 overall, while River Falls improves to 14-3-4. The Royals must now prepare for another tough foe in St. Thomas, whom they will face off against this weekend starting with a home game at 7 p.m. on Friday night at the Schwan's Super Rink.