Box Score Box Score

BLAINE, Minn. - A valiant effort came up just short Friday night as the Bethel University men's hockey team battled #14 UW-River Falls but fell by a 2-1 score. The Royals had a flurry of shots in the final minutes after pulling their goalie but could not capitalize and the Falcons escaped the Bethel University Arena with their third victory of the season.

“We had a solid performance against a very good River Falls team but a couple breakdowns cost us the game,” Royals head coach Charlie Burggraf said. “We certainly had our own offensive opportunities but just couldn't find the handle. This team will continue to improve as we have a lot of potential and are young.”

The Falcons scored the first goal of the game on a rebound on the left side of the net that was put home by Blake Huppert at the 10:18 mark of the first period. In the second period the Royals were able to tie the game on a power play goal by Jack Paul, also off a rebound on the left side, on a shot by Mitch Hughes. It was Paul's second goal of the season. The Falcons were called for a tripping penalty on the goal which kept the Royals on the power play but UW-River Falls was able to kill it off and the score remained tied going into the intermission. The game winner for the Falcons came at the 15:31 mark in the third period when the Falcons had a three on two break and Sean Roadhouse scored off his own rebound. The Royals did not go quietly however, as they had the packed crowd on their feet, and fired off several good shots in the last minute and a half after killing off a UW-River Falls power play that started with 3:26 remaining.

Freshman Matt Rowe got the start in the goal for the Royals, his first, and made 33 saves. UW-River Falls All-Conference goalie Scott Lewen made 19 saves to pick up the win and the Falcons improved to 3-0. Bethel fell to 1-2 and will look to even their record Saturday evening when they host the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 7 p.m. at the Bethel University Arena at the National Sports Center in Blaine.