The Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons (UW-River Falls) are a Men’s Division III ice hockey team representing the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, located in River Falls, Wisconsin from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team is based out of Hunt Arena, which is located on the school’s campus. The men’s program was established for the 1964-65 season.
Quick Hits
- School: University of Wisconsin-River Falls
- Location: River Falls, Wisconsin
- School Founded: 1874
- Enrollment: 5,210
- Colors: Red, Black, & White
- Home Arena: Hunt Arena
- Arena Capacity: 1,400 (1,789 standing)
- Rink Dimensions: 200′ x 85′
- Conference: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC)
- Head Coach: Steve Freeman
- Conference Titles: 6 (1987, 1988, 1996, 2007 co-champ, 2014, 2016 co-champ)
- Conference Tournament Titles: 3 (1988, 1996, 2015)
- National Titles: 2 (1988, 1994)
Conferences
- NAIA Independent (1964-1980)
- Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (1980-2013)
- Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (2013-present)
Arenas
- Unknown (1964-1973)
- Hunt Arena (1973-present)
Head Coaches
- Jack Agnew (1964-1965) 2-3-0 (.400)
- Walt Granata (1965-1967) 9-13-0 (.409)
- Tom Younghans (1967-1968) 9-1-0 (.900)
- Gwynn Christensen (1968-1969) 10-2-1 (.808)
- Jim Helminiak (1969-1973) 28-37-1 (.432)
- Don Joseph (1974-1981) 116-97-1 (.544)
- George Gwozdecky (1981-1984) 66-29-2 (.691)
- Mike McGraw (1984-1985) 15-12-0 (.556)
- Craig Dahl (1985-1986) 15-12-3 (.550)
- Rick Kozuback (1986-1989) 65-26-5 (.703)
- Dean Talafous (1989-1996) 110-84-18 (.561)
- Steve Freeman (1996-present) 481-295-68 (.610)
Year by Year Results
| Season | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Conference Tournament | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Independent | Overall Record |
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| 1964-65 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | - | - |
| 1965-66 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | - | - |
| 1966-67 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | - | - |
| 1967-68 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | - | - |
| 1968-69 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| 1969-70 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | - | - |
| 1970-71 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | - | - |
| 1971-72 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 19 | 6 | 13 | 0 | - | - |
| 1972-73 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 1 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 12 | 2 | 9 | 1 | - | - |
| 1973-74 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | - | - |
| 1974-75 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 27 | 13 | 14 | 0 | - | - |
| 1975-76 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 29 | 14 | 15 | 0 | - | - |
| 1976-77 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 26 | 18 | 8 | 0 | - | - |
| 1977-78 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | - | - |
| 1978-79 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | - | - |
| 1979-80 | 29 | 3 | 16 | 0 | - | - | N/A | N/A | N/A | 29 | 3 | 16 | 0 | - | - |
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association | Overall Record |
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| 1980-81 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 41 | 61 | 0.25 | 6th | No Tournament | 30 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 127 | 151 |
| 1981-82 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 89 | 95 | 0.55 | 3rd | No Tournament | 34 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 184 | 152 |
| 1982-83 | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 102 | 79 | 29 | T-2nd | No Tournament | 31 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 117 | 114 |
| 1983-84 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 89 | 50 | 22 | T-2nd | No Tournament | 32 | 21 | 10 | 1 | 203 | 127 |
| 1984-85 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 77 | 86 | 16 | T-4th | No Tournament | 27 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 136 | 116 |
| 1985-86 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 85 | 67 | 22 | 4th | L, SF 4-5, 3-3 OT (Bemidji St.) | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 143 | 126 |
| 1986-87 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 111 | 162 | 30 | 1st | L, SF 9-4, 2-6, 1-2 OT minigame (St. Cloud St.) | 30 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 180 | 93 |
| 1987-88 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 138 | 82 | 40 | 1st | W, SF 3-3 OT, 10-3 (Mankato St.) W, F 7-4, 2-0 (Bemidji St.) | 38 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 230 | 125 |
| 1988-89 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 110 | 90 | 25 | 4th | Did not qualify | 28 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 127 | 105 |
| 1989-90 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 114 | 89 | 25 | 5th | L, SF 1-8, 2-7 (Stevens Point) | 29 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 134 | 114 |
| 1990-91 | 24 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 69 | 102 | 15 | 6th | Did not qualify | 27 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 73 | 115 |
| 1991-92 | 20 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 69 | 104 | 5 | 6th | Did not qualify | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 86 | 111 |
| 1992-93 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 88 | 87 | 21 | 3rd | W, QF 5-0, 2-1 (Eau Claire) L, SF 3-7, 0-7 (Bemidji St.) | 33 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 149 | 127 |
| 1993-94 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 89 | 72 | 24 | 4th | W, QF 7-1, 6-2 (Eau Claire) L, SF 4-3, 4-6, 1-2 minigame (Superior) | 33 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 149 | 110 |
| 1994-95 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 76 | 53 | 24 | T-5th | W, QF 6-11, 3-1, 1-0 minigame (Eau Claire) L, SF 3-0, 2-5, 0-2 minigame (Bemidji St.) | 33 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 127 | 94 |
| 1995-96 | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 64 | 36 | 33 | 1st | W, SF 3-1, 3-1 (St. Norbert) W, F 2-1, 3-3 OT (Superior) | 33 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 117 | 55 |
| 1996-97 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 77 | 55 | 26 | 5th | W, QF 4-1, 4-2 (Eau Claire) W, SF 2-1, 7-4 (St. Norbert) L, F 0-2, 2-3 (Superior) | 31 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 117 | 87 |
| 1997-98 | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 79 | 50 | 29 | 2nd | W, SF 5-3, 7-3 (Stout) L, SF 7-4, 1-3, 0-2 minigame (Stevens Point) | 31 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 124 | 77 |
| 1998-99 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 55 | 33 | 24 | 2nd | W, QF 3-1, 4-2 (Lake Forest) W, SF 4-2, 5-4 (Stevens Point) L, F 1-4, 1-8 (St. Norbert) | 31 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 109 | 82 |
| 1999-00 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 46 | 40 | 18 | 4th | W, QF 5-2, 3-2 (Lake Forest) L, SF 1-3, 1-5 (Stevens Point) | 29 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 91 | 81 |
| 2000-01 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 71 | 38 | 20 | 2nd | W, QF 4-3, 3-1 (Lake Forest) W, SF 2-1, 2-5, 1-0 OT minigame (St. Norbert) L, F 2-2 OT, 2-4 (Superior) | 35 | 23 | 10 | 2 | 146 | 86 |
| 2001-02 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 49 | 30 | 16 | 4th | W, QF 4-2, 6-2 (Eau Claire) L, SF 3-2 2OT (St. Norbert) | 29 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 108 | 61 |
| 2002-03 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 78 | 26 | 23 | T-2nd | W, QF 3-0, 14-2 (St. Scholastica) L, SF 6-3 (Superior) L, 3P 5-2 (Stevens Point) | 31 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 164 | 83 |
| 2003-04 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 54 | 34 | 19 | 2nd | W, QF 5-1, 3-0 (Eau Claire) W, SF 4-1 (Stevens Point) L, F 2-0 (St. Norbert) | 31 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 108 | 61 |
| 2004-05 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 34 | 18 | 3rd | W, QF 4-0, 4-6, 2-1 minigame (Stout) L, SF 6-2 (Superior) | 28 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 103 | 69 |
| 2005-06 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 35 | 19 | 2nd | L, QF 0-1, 2-3 OT (Stout) | 27 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 93 | 62 |
| 2006-07 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 31 | 21 | T-1st | W, QF 4-1, 7-1 (Lake Forest) L, SF 2-1 (St. Scholastica) | 29 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 110 | 65 |
| 2007-08 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 56 | 42 | 17 | 2nd | L, QF 2-5, 3-3 OT (St. Scholastica) | 27 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 118 | 80 |
| 2008-09 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 38 | 48 | 9 | 6th | L, QF 0-2, 0-2 (St. Scholastica) | 27 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 69 | 77 |
| 2009-10 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 53 | 60 | 20 | 3rd | W, QF 3-1, 6-3 (Eau Claire) W, SF 6-3 (St. Scholastica) L, F 7-1 (St. Norbert) | 29 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 103 | 86 |
| 2010-11 | 18 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 45 | 49 | 15 | 6th | W, QF 2-3, 4-3 OT, 2-0 minigame (Stout) L, SF 5-3 (St. Norbert) | 28 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 76 | 70 |
| 2011-12 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 57 | 54 | 22 | T-2nd | L, QF 1-3, 1-2 OT (Eau Claire) | 27 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 91 | 68 |
| 2012-13 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 39 | 59 | 14 | T-5th | W, QF 1-2, 4-1, 3-1 minigame (Stevens Point) L, SF 7-2 (Eau Claire) | 28 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 79 | 82 |
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Overall Record |
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| 2013-14 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 32 | 16 | 1st | L, SF 1-2, 0-4 (Superior) | 27 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 77 | 64 |
| 2014-15 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 37 | 29 | 14 | 3rd | W, SF 4-3, 2-4, 2-1 OT minigame (Eau Claire) W, F 3-1 (Stevens Point) | 28 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 91 | 60 |
| 2015-16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 18 | 11 | T-1st | W, SF 3-1, 1-1 OT (Stout) L, F 4-3 2OT (Stevens Point) | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 79 | 50 |
| 2016-17 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 18 | 7 | 3rd of 5 | L, SF 1-3, 3-6 (Eau Claire) | 27 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 64 | 61 |
| 2017-18 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 26 | 3 | 5th of 5 | W, QF 7-1, 3-3 OT (Superior) L, 1-5, 2-3 (Stevens Point) | 29 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 72 | 85 |
| 2018-19 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 25 | 5 | 4th of 5 | W, QF 3-2, 3-0 (Stout) L, SF 0-6, 2-6 (Stevens Point) | 28 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 72 | 72 |
| 2019-20 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 42 | 16 | 3rd of 6 | W, QF 2-5, 4-1, 3-0 minigame (Stout) L, SF 1-4, 1-5 (Stevens Point) | 29 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 87 | 70 |
| 2020-21 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 14 | 13 | 1st | Forfeit L, SF due to COVID protocols (Superior) | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 17 |
| 2021-22 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 41 | 37 | 27 | 2nd | L, SF 2-3 OT, 1-3 (Eau Claire) | 27 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 65 | 67 |
| 2022-23 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 32 | 40 | 17 | 5th | L, QF 1-4, 2-4 (Stout) | 27 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 66 | 72 |
| 2023-24 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 35 | 40 | 14 | 4th of 6 | W, QF 3-2, 1-0 (Superior) L, SF 4-4 OT, 2-4 (Stevens Point) | 29 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 73 | 67 |
| 2024-25 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 49 | 42 | 26 | 4th of 6 | W, QF 4-1, 4-0 (Stout) W, SF 1-4, 2-1, 2-1 minigame (Superior) L, F 2-0 (Eau Claire) | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 92 | 77 |
| 2025-26 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 51 | 45 | 21 | T-3rd of 6 | W, SF 4-1 (Eau Claire) L, F 5-4 (Stout) | 27 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 93 | 77 |
National Tournament Appearances
| Season | First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | Third Place (1984-1987; 1991-2001) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NAIA |
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| 1975 | N/A | L, 8-0 (Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties) | -- | -- | -- |
| 1976 | N/A | L, 10-3 (Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets) | -- | -- | -- |
| 1977 | N/A | L, 6-4 (St. Scholastica Saints) | -- | -- | -- |
| 1978 | N/A | W, 3-2 (St. Scholastica Saints) | L, 10-2 (Augsburg Auggies) | -- | L, 7-3 (St. Thomas Tommies) |
| 1979 | N/A | W, 4-3 OT (Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties) | L, 7-5 (Bemidji State Beavers) | -- | L, 4-2 (St. Scholastica Saints) |
| 1980 | N/A | W, 5-4 (Concordia Cobbers) | L, 5-4 (Michigan-Dearborn Wolves) | -- | L, 11-4 (Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets) |
| 1981 | N/A | L, 9-2 (Augsburg Auggies) | -- | -- | -- |
| 1982 | N/A | W, 5-4 OT (Bethel Royals) | L, 7-0 (Bemidji State Beavers) | -- | L, 4-2 (Michigan-Dearborn Wolves) |
| 1983 | N/A | N/A | W, 7-0 (Hawthorne Highlanders) | W, 12-5 (Michigan-Dearborn Wolves | -- |
NCAA Division III |
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| 1984 | N/A | L, 0-4, 6-4 (Union Dutchmen) | -- | -- | -- |
| 1988 | N/A | W, 6-5, 9-5 (Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers) | W, 6-4, 5-3 (Bemidji State Beavers) | W, 7-1, 3-5, 3-0 (Elmira Soaring Eagles) | N/A |
| 1993 | N/A | W, 5-2, 4-2 (Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties) | W, 4-2 (Plattsburgh Cardinals) | L, 4-3 OT (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) | -- |
| 1994 | N/A | W, 4-2, 4-3 (Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers) | W, 4-3 (Fredonia Blue Devils) | W, 6-4 (Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets) | -- |
| 1995 | N/A | W, 5-1, 5-3 (Saint Mary's Cardinals) | L, 3-1 (Middlebury Panthers) | -- | W, 6-5 OT (Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets) |
| 1996 | N/A | W, 7-1, 7-3 (Bowdoin Polar Bears) | L, 2-1 (RIT Tigers) | -- | W, 8-2 (Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets) |
| 1998 | N/A | L, 2-3, 3-4 (Augsburg Auggies) | -- | -- | -- |
| 2001 | N/A | W, 8-1, 2-1 (New England College Pilgrims) | L, 5-2 (RIT Tigers) | -- | L, 3-1 (Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets) |
| 2003 | W, 2-0 (Saint John's Johnnies) | L, 5-2 (St. Norbert Green Knights) | -- | -- | N/A |
| 2004 | W, 3-2 OT (St. Thomas Tommies) | L, 3-0 (St. Norbert Green Knights) | -- | -- | N/A |
| 2007 | L, 2-1 (Bethel Royals) | -- | -- | -- | N/A |
11 appearances* | 2-time National Champions | 1-time National Runner-Up | 2-time Third Place Finishers | 1 Fourth Place Finish |
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