Ben Beaudoin scored two goals as Wisconsin-River Falls upset St. Scholastica 6-3 in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Peters Cup semifinal Saturday night at Mars Lakeview Arena, damaging the sixth-ranked Saints' hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Jordan Chong and Aaron Spotts scored goals 1:16 apart in the second period to give St. Scholastica (17-5-6) a 2-1 lead, but the 15th-ranked Falcons (18-8-2) scored three straight goals to take a two-goal advantage.
Chong netted his second of the game and team-high 17th of the season at 13:46 of the third to close the gap to 4-3, but Jason Yuel scored on a power play at 17:53 and Sean Roadhouse put the puck in an empty net with 1:22 remaining to seal the win.
River Falls, which improved to 10-1-2 on the road, advances to play conference champion St. Norbert in the championship game. The Green Knights downed Wisconsin-Stevens Point 7-1 in the other semifinal.
River Falls goalie Bo Storozuk saved 29 shots, including 24 in the final two periods. Zach Kleiman, who entered with a 1.92 goals-against average, had 33 saves for the Saints, including 18 in the opening period.
ADVERTISEMENT
The game marked the first time St. Scholastica hosted an NCHA semifinal, but it could be its final home game of the season. The Saints hope to land an at-large spot in the 11-team NCAA field, but will have to bank on favorites winning conference tournaments in both the East and West regions to receive consideration from the selection committee.
