DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's hockey team hosted the University of Wisconsin-River Falls for a non-conference game Friday night at Mars Lakeview Arena. 

How it Happened
The Saints were the first team to get on the scoreboard in tonight's contest. Four minutes and twenty-six seconds into the first period, the Ledenkov's found the junior forward Carsen Richels (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine HS(University of New Hampshire)) who netted the goal to take the 1-0 lead. It was the Falcons who were shorthanded, but they managed to get by the Saints' defenders and score at 10:37, tying the game.

With about six minutes left in the first, the puck flew down to Falcons end and it was thought to be an icing call on the Saints at first, the Falcons goalie stepped away for a second, but that would give Richels just enough time to find Arkhip Ledenkov (Polotsk, Belarus/Ostroshitsko-Gorodokskaya (New York Aviators-USPHL)) for the Saints score. After the first, CSS was up 2-1. 

A penalty in the middle of the second would give the Saints a power-play chance, although they couldn't capitalize on the shots they got. With four minutes remaining, the Falcons went on the power-play, this time the Saints got the shorthanded goal. The Falcon goaltender fully left the net to retain the puck, the puck got loose, and then tried to race back to the net, Nathan Adrian (Roseau, Minn./Roseau HS (Minnesota Wilderness-NAHL)) got control of the puck and scored the unassisted goal. 

The Saints now had the 3-1 advantage, a few minutes later it was URWF with seconds left, who would get another score. Heading into the third period, the Saints still were up on the scoreboard, 3-2.

At the 4:17 spot, Arkhip went on a break-away and scored right in front of the net, at the end both Arkhip and the goaltender collided and both went sliding. Arkhip quickly got up and celebrated with his teammates as they widened the lead 4-2 Assits on the goal were by Filimon and Richels. Seven minutes remaining the Falcons managed to intercept the pass and score a goal. Things were getting intense as the Saints still led 4-3.

In the last few minutes of the game, everyone was on the edge of their seats, URWF would pull their goal with just about one minute remaining. The Falcons would end up shooting five shots on the Saints' net, with saves on each shot, making each second more and more thrilling. Sixteen seconds remaining, Adrian would get the loose puck and pass it down to Jacob Seitz (Mountain Iron, Minn./Virginia HS (Minnesota Magicians-NAHL)), who would race down with a Falcon defender right on him. Seitz would manage to take control of the puck and score on the empty net. That would be enough for the Saints to hang on and finish the game with a 5-3 victory over the Falcons.

Goaltending
Jack Bostedt (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig HS (Minnesota Mullets-USPHL)) had another fantastic finish for the Saints. Earning 41 saves on the night. Dean Buchholz recorded 26 saves for the Falcons.

Up Next
The Saints (8-4-2, 5-0-1 MIAC) will be back at Mars Lakeview Arena on Saturday when they host another WIAC opponent the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Wis.). Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.