#1 UW-River Falls defeated #2 Gustavus 5-3 on Tuesday 11/12/24. (Photo by Carly Lynch)

Better late than never for a game recap, but this one was too good and too big of a game to not mention more of.

#2 Gustavus @ #1 UW-River Falls has become a rivalry over the years and most recently became one of the best matchups we see every year in all of Women’s or Men’s D-III hockey.

As I nicknamed it the “Falcon Gustie Invitational” aka the NCAA Quarterfinal, as these two teams have gotten unfairly paired due to geography in the NCAA tournament, these two never disappoint!

#2 Gustavus @ #1 UW-River Falls: UWRF 5-3

This game didn’t disappoint, it was worth every minute of a watch.

Gustavus came out swinging, they scored the lone goal of the 1st period just over the halfway mark (13:00), it was Lily Mortenson giving the Gusties the 1-0 lead headed into the 2nd period.

The Gusties would add another pair of goals to take the commanding 3-0 lead. Brooke Power at 10:59 and then Noelle Hemr converted on the powerplay at 15:23.

The Falcons would cut a third of the lead on the powerplay just over a minute later (16:56) as MaKenna Aure buried one to get her Falcons on the board, down 3-1 entering the final period of play.

The 3rd period was an epic one unless you’re a Gustie fan… River Falls buried four goals (including empty netter) to win this contest.

It didn’t start until over the halfway mark of the period, which makes this even more impressive by River Falls. Katherine Bell scored at 10:26 to make it 3-2, then the flurry began.

Ellie Brice received a bullet pass up the middle and buried the breakaway at 15:30 to tie it up. Her teammate Bailey Olson would then quickly receive another bullet pass (both from Sami Pool) up the middle and score on the breakaway to give her Falcons their first lead of the game (4-3) at 16:28. Kylie Jones iced the cake as she scored the empty-netter with 45 seconds left in the game to seal the 5-3 victory for #1 River Falls who extended their unbeaten streak to 35 games, dating back to the start of the 2023-2024 season.

Gustavus had four penalties and River Falls had three. Goaltender Jordan O’Kane made 22 saves in the victory and Maya Marston made 18 saves in the loss.

These two face off once again on December 10 (Tuesday) in St. Peter, MN & then back in River Falls on January 28 (Tuesday).