River Falls boys hockey took the ice for an important week of skating, coming away with a split after losing to Hudson 3-1 Jan. 7 and beating Rice Lake 5-3 Thursday.
The Wildcats are in the …
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River Falls boys hockey took the ice for an important week of skating, coming away with a split after losing to Hudson 3-1 Jan. 7 and beating Rice Lake 5-3 Thursday.
The Wildcats are in the heart of the Big Rivers standings, with a 3-3 conference record putting them right around the middle with important weeks ahead. River Falls is 5-7-0 overall on the year.
River Falls was tied with a Hudson team that is 5-0-0 in conference after two periods, yet the Raiders proved to be too much to handle.
“I think we understand the level of play we can play at,” Head Coach Tim Beres said. “Hudson, they’re a great team and, obviously, I think they’re going to be contending for a State Tournament, so it’s good to be able to see our boys respond and be able to play to the level that we want to and I think we brought that same effort on Thursday.”
Beres said there were just a few lapses in Thursday’s win where the team is out of sorts. Avoiding those lapses will be a difference maker the rest of the way. The team is starting to grasp the way they want to play and it has shown in the recent results.
“The biggest thing for us is just being consistent,” Beres said. “Even though we have small successes, we can’t ride the highs and ride the lows.”
The Wildcats have found their defensive norm, allowing two or three goals in seven of the last 10 games. There have been a few outliers where teams have racked up goals, but for the most part, four goals scored would get the job done.
River Falls coaches are working with the goalies to trim this number down a bit more.
“Being a little bit more aggressive, cutting down the angles, rebound control,” Beres said. “We would like that number right around two, one-two, but it is the game of hockey and there are bounces and things do happen.”
These keys are the exact same Beres said the offense needs to pursue. Reading rebounds and retaining possession are vital to the River Falls offensive system.
There have been individual improvements across the board according to Beres, as each guy is becoming comfortable with the role they are in. While it has been a team effort for the gritty squad, junior Jaxon Flanagan has put on a show. Flanagan has 10 goals on the year to go along with four assists in just 10 games, good for 1.40 points per game.
“Everybody’s improved greatly,” Beres said. “Jaxon, he’s a player that, he’s very good. He’s got good hands, good vision, can shoot the puck. That first line that I’ve got, they’ve been doing really well together with Riley Usgaard and Nolan [Hoepfl]. I would say everybody has kind of stepped up and understood what the expectation is.”
There is about a month to play in the regular season, with River Falls making a push to meet their potential at the right time.