In their three meetings this season, the Saints and Falcons are 1-1-1.
After a heart-stopping four hours of hockey last Saturday night, the St. Scholastica Saints men's hockey team has had a week to rest before the puck drops on its NCHA Peters Cup semifinal match-up with the University of Wis.-River Falls Falcons.
For the second straight night, the Saints and Wis.-Superior Yellowjackets tied in the quarterfinals Saturday night, leading to a mini-game which saw the Saints finish off their bridge rivals shortly after 10:30 p.m. with an overtime goal by #Jeremy Dawes# (So.-Winnipeg, Man.) which sent the Saints into the semis.
The Falcons had an easier time with their first round match-up, handing Wis.-Eau Claire a pair of losses by scores of 3-1 on Friday and 6-3 on Saturday. Tyler Czuba (Sr.-Kelowna, B.C.) had a three-point night for the Falcons as they never trailed on Saturday evening.
The Saints and Falcons have as long-standing a history as any pair of teams in the conference. The Falcons own the series, dating back to the 1972-73 season, at 55-32-5 against the Saints, but lately, CSS has been primarily had the upper-hand in the rivalry.
River Falls owned a 23-game undefeated streak against CSS from 1997 until early in the 2006-07. After breaking the streak in 2007, the Saints have had the Falcons' number, losing one game to the Falcons in each of the last four seasons but holding an overall 8-4-2 record against River Falls.
One needs not go far into the history books to find the last meeting between these two teams as they met in the quarterfinals of last year's Peters Cup tournament with the Saints shutting out the Falcons both nights by a score of 2-0.
The defense shined for the Saints on that weekend, something that will be vital in the coming game against the No. 15-ranked Falcons. The Falcons have taken advantage of teams' defensive lapses this season, with seven victories of at least three points, including a 10-1 victory to open the season against Concordia University.
Conversely, the Saints have 11 three-plus point victories this season, but also a handful of close victories relying on stout defense and special teams. On the regular season, the Saints had the best penalty killing percentage in the league while also taking the fewest penalty minutes. While short-handed, the Saints scored five goals on the regular season while allowing just one on the powerplay. Last week, the Yellowjackets scored two short-handed goals on the Saints; in the same powerplay opportunities, the Saints netted their own goals.
The regular season series between the two teams was split straight down the middle, 1-1-1, with each team picking up a win on the other's home ice. River Falls pulled off a huge upset on Jan. 15, defeating the Saints 5-0 at Mars Lakeview Arena. The Saints fought back with a vengeance the next night, but had to settle for a 5-5 tie until two weeks later, when they were able to pull off a 6-0 thrashing of the Falcons in River Falls.
It's worth noting that both of the likely goaltenders, the Saints' #Zach Kleiman# (Sr.-Ottawa, Ont.) and Falcons' Bo Storozuk (Sr.-Swan River, Man.) took a shutout win and a loss in head-to-head meetings, each showing signs of brilliance against their opponent this weekend.
While both teams have at least nine double-digit scorers, it's easy to pick up the stars from the teams. Combined, the Saints and Falcons landed ten players on the All-NCHA teams.
For River Falls, Czuba led the way as the team's leading scorer and was named to the first team. Also on the first team, Justin Brossman (So.-Littleton, Colo.) tied for second on the team with 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points.
Defenseman Brady Horn (Fr.-Yorda Linda, Calif.) and goaltender Storozuk also were named All-NCHA honorable mentions. Horn led all Falcon defensemen in scoring with 10 points, including six powerplay goals.
The 5-10, 192 pound Storozuk started 22 games in net for the Falcons, finishing with a 12-6-1 record and three shutouts. He had a 2.67 goals against average and a .913 saves percentage.
CSS put six men on the All-NCHA teams, including forward #Jordan Chong# (Sr.-North Vancouver, B.C.). Chong was a strong candidate for the Player of the Year honor after posting 31 points on the season.
The Saints defense also got some love on the first team as defenseman #Dustin DeGagne# (Sr.-Winnipeg, Man.) and netminder Kleiman were both named. The two men anchor the Saints defense which has allowed just 2.08 and a conference-best four shutouts. Kleiman also posted his career-best season at CSS.
Two Saints forwards, the aforementioned Dawes and #Jordan Baird# (Sr.-Port McNeill, B.C.) landed among the Honorable Mentions. Baird set new career highs in all major offensive categories, including 22 points which put him at 13th in the conference. Dawes was sixth in the NCHA with 27 points.
#Austin Brown# (So.-Lathrup Village, Mich.) rounds out the all-conference honorees represented in this game, earning honors as a defenseman.
It's difficult to say what to expect this weekend. With such a disparity in scores during the teams' three meetings this season, it's safe to say ANYTHING can happen when the Saints and Falcons hit the ice. The one thing that is safe to bet on is fast-paced, exciting hockey between two of the top 15 Div.-III teams in the nation.
The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. at Mars Lakeview Arena on Saturday night. As always, the action can be heard on the air on ESPN Radio 560-WEBC and online at csssaints.com, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network.
