RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The Marian University men's hockey team traveled to No. 11/14 UW-River Falls to open the second half of the season and nearly came back from a two goal third period deficit but ultimately fell to the Falcons by a 3-2 final.  It was the ninth game against a ranked opponent this season for the Sabres as they moved to 3-4-2 against nationally ranked teams.

The Falcons were able to find the back of the net first with a pair of goals separated by only 2:12 midway through the first period with UWRF outshooting the Sabres 11-6 in the opening stanza.

Needing a sense of urgency, the Sabres came out with a great push to open the second period with a flurry of shots.  Jake Howie nearly missed a goal finding the post, but shortly after Jacob Ryd would score in the crease for his second goal of the year to cut the MU deficit in half at 2-1.  Brodie Jamieson earned an assist on the play in his first action of the season.

The Falcons opened the scoring for the third period on the power play with 13:16 left to play to extend their lead out to 3-1.  The Sabres would be put on the power play themselves with just under five minutes to play and used the opportunity to empty their net for the 6-on-4 advantage.  A mere 1:01 later the Sabres found themselves with a 6-on-3 advantage after another Falcon penalty.  UWRF was able to kill off the first penalty before Derek Thorogood netted his fifth goal of the year on a scrum in front of the net to push the score to 3-2.

The Sabre goal would remain empty the remainder of the game, but MU was unable to light the lamp and force overtime to put the final score at 3-2.

UWRF finished the game with a 27-22 shots advantage with Mike Gudmandson turning away 24 shots sent his way.  Howie would lead the Sabres with a game-high six shots on goal.

Marian next returns to NCHA play hosting Northland College for a two-game series.  The opener is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start time Sunday, Jan. 10 with the finale the following day, Monday, Jan. 11, with a 1 p.m. puck drop.

--FightBlueFight--