Notables
-River Falls ranked No. 12 in USCHO.com preseason poll
-Shots: UWRF 32, CSS 15
-Megariotis had made only 20 saves in his collegiate career entering tonight
-Sutliffe has recorded at least one point in four straight games dating back to last season
-CSS is now 4-0-2 in last six season openers
RIVER FALLS, Wis. (
csssaints.com) – Goaltender
Peter Megariotis (Anaheim Hills, Calif./Canyon HS (Adrian)) made 31 saves in the St. Scholastica men's hockey team's 2-1 season-opening victory over No. 12 University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Friday night at Hunt Arena.
Scoreless First
The Saints only had two shots on goal in the opening period coming from
Steven Phee (Balzac, Alberta/George McDougall HS (Canmore-AJHL) ) and
Josh Hansen (Chilliwack, British Columbia/Unity Christian School (Chilliwack-BCHL) ) and both came in the first eight minutes of the game. The Falcons put 11 shots on net and Megariotis, in his second collegiate start, stopped them all to keep it scoreless at the first intermission.
Busy Second
At the end of the first period, the Falcons would be called for a five-minute major penalty and the Saints ultimately took advantage as Phee scored less than two minutes into the second period to give CSS a 1-0 lead.
Brandon Millin (Port Moody, British Columbia/Heritage Woods HS (Notre Dame Hounds-SJHL) ) and
Mark Whiteley (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross HS (Marian University)) were credited with the assists.
River Falls found the equalizer seven minutes into the period on a Joe Drapluk even-strength goal to make it 1-1. After St. Scholastica killed off a penalty,
Derek Sutliffe (Las Vegas, Nev./Odyssey Charter School (Langley Rivermen-BCHL) ) found the back of the net with 6:54 remaining in the period to give the Saints the lead back at 2-1. Freshman
Brett Radford (Campbell River, British Columbia/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Canmore-AJHL)) had the assist.
Hanging on to Win
The Falcons put 10 shots on net in the third period, but Megariotis stood tall and stopped all 10. The Falcons pulled the goalie with 1:21 remaining in the game, but they did not put a single shot on goal the rest of the way as the Saints prevailed 2-1.
Goaltending
In his fourth collegiate game overall, Megariotis stopped at least 10 shots in each of the three periods to finish with a career-high 31 for the game. Alex Okicki made 13 saves for the Falcons in the loss.
Up Next
The Saints will be at the University of Wisconsin-Stout tomorrow night with the puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Listen live on Saints Sports Net.
