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Oles defeat nationally ranked River Falls

Mike Lewis
January 24, 2002

On Tuesday, January 22, the St. Olaf men's hockey team played a rescheduled game against the UW-River Falls Falcons. The Falcons are NCAA competitors this season, ranking seventh in the nation among all Division III teams in the coaches poll on January 22. The Oles played a terrific game, defeating the Falcons 4-3.

The Falcons looked to take control of the game quickly and decisively, scoring within the first three minutes. St. Olaf adjusted to the River Falls playing style, and turned up their game a notch. Though the Oles were outshot 15-2 in the first period, but the Falcons only scored once.

Five minutes into the second period, the Oles tied the game on a goal by Justin Bronce (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.). Nick Hanson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) then gave St. Olaf the lead on a goal with an assist from Dan Norsten (So., Eagan, Minn.). With three seconds left in the period, Brandon Smieja (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) backhanded a rebound to score past the goalie?s blocker, and the Oles took a two-goal lead into the third period.

The Falcons stepped up their offense in the third, holding the Oles at bay until Jordan Bronce (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored on a feed from Norsten. With nine minutes remaining, the Falcons put home a rebound goal, closing the gap to 4-2. Four minutes later, the Falcons took advantage of a bad line change to score again. With one minute remaining, the Falcons yanked their goaltender for the sixth attacker and worked inside the Ole zone for scoring opportunities. Shot after shot riddled the Ole net, but goalkeeper Garret Hasti (So., St. Louis Park, Minn.) turned each aside. Hasti stopped 46 of 49 shots for an outstanding performance. With seven seconds on the clock, the Oles took a time out to discuss defending a faceoff in their zone. When the puck dropped, the Oles covered it up and cleared it out with two seconds to go. At the end of those two seconds, the Oles had chalked up a 4-3 victory over one of the nations finest teams.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.