Stout comes from behind again; meet Eau Claire in playoffs

MENOMONIE  (February 13, 2009) - Joel Gaulrapp (Jr, Owatonna, Minn) scored a shorthanded goal with two-minutes, 27-seconds remaining in the game to lift UW-Stout to a 6-5 come-from-behind win over UW-River Falls, Friday at the Dunn County Ice Arena.

The Blue Devils (18-5-2, 10-2-2 NCHA) trailed 5-2 coming into the third period.

Scott Motz (Jr, Lake Elmo, Minn) scored at 4:08 to cut the deficit to two goals. Gaulrapp scored his first goal of the night, on the power play, only a bit more than a minute later to pull Stout within one goal.

Danny Ryan (So, Niles, Ill) took a pass from Paul Henderson (Jr, Menomonie), hit River Falls goalie Bo Storozuk and the puck richoceted over his left shoulder into the net.

Seconds later, River Falls put a shot off the Stout goal pipe and Matt Koenig (Sr, Lakeland, Minn) stopped the rebound shot. 

Stout was whistled for a penalty at 17:10, but Gaulrapp scored the shorthanded goal by faking a shot, then going up over the goalie for game winner.

The game was the Blue Devils' second consecutive come-from-behind win. Stout came back from a 3-1 deficit at St. Norbert last weeked for a 4-3 overtime win.

But it seemed early in the game, there would be no opportunity for a comeback. 

Stout opened the scoring on a David Larson (So, Warroad, Minn) goal three minutes into the game. But the Falcons (10-13-2, 4-9-1) knotted the score on a goal by Alex Lundbohm seven minutes into the contest. The Falcons took a 2-1 lead on a Nolan Craner goal at 9:35 in the first. River Falls stretched the lead to 3-1 on a Grant Evertt goal at 12:07 and added another goal with three minutes left in the period by Dustin Norman.

Stout's Andy Sternberg (Jr, Duluth, Minn) cut the lead in half just before the end of the first period. River Falls got their fifth goal of the game in the second by Sean Roadhouse.

Koenig had 28 saves, while Storozuk had 24 saves for the Falcons.