Saint John's Falls in Overtime Slugfest to No. 15 River Falls

Saint John’s hockey fell short in a high-scoring slugfest, dropping a 6-5 overtime decision to No. 15 Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday night, Nov. 14. The loss brings the Johnnies’ record to 3-2-1 overall.

Sophomore forward Carter Krenke sparked a late comeback for the Johnnies by tying the game at 5-5 with just 1:36 remaining in regulation. SJU pulled freshman goaltender Hunter Bauer for the extra skater with two minutes left on the clock, a gamble that paid off when Krenke toe-dragged through a cluster of defenders and roofed a backhand shot.

The host Falcons answered swiftly in the 3-on-3 overtime period. UWRF found an open Luke Margenau in the slot, and he buried a one-timer under the crossbar with 1:37 left in the extra frame to seal the 6-5 victory for No. 15 Wisconsin-River Falls, which improved to 6-0-0 overall.

The Johnnies outshot the Falcons 47-36 and converted on half of their power-play opportunities, going 1-for-2 while UWRF went 2-for-4. Ben Portner opened the scoring for the home team with a power-play goal 7:14 into the contest.

Senior forward Logan Lyke evened the score for SJU with 3:37 left in the first period, netting his third goal in as many games. Freshman defenseman Joe Luger fired a shot from the circle, and junior forward Jordan Newpower created traffic in front to draw attention away from Lyke, who easily swept in the rebound.

River Falls struck back just 11 seconds later with an unassisted breakaway goal following a neutral-zone turnover. Sophomore forward Jordan Larkee answered right back for the Johnnies, knotting the game 2-2 with a power-play tally with just two seconds left on the first-period clock off a rebound from senior forward Luke Levandowski.

Senior forward Cam Boche gave SJU its first lead of the night at 3-2 at the 11:41 mark of the second period, redirecting a feed from Krenke. Another UWRF power-play goal leveled the score at 3-3 before the second intermission.

Newpower pushed SJU ahead 4-3 just 1:09 into the third period on a shot into the top corner following a quick pass from Lyke. The Falcons responded with two goals, including the go-ahead score from Keenan Ingram.

Bauer turned away 30 shots in his first collegiate start and appearance in the SJU net. The Johnnies will look to rebound when they open MIAC play by hosting Concordia-Moorhead at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

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