PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Forward Courtney Umland’s goal and assist were not enough to boost the No. 6-ranked St. Thomas women’s hockey team past No. 4-ranked Wis.-River Falls Saturday afternoon, as the Tommies fell to the Falcons 5-3 in Plattsburgh, N.Y., in the consolation final.

St. Thomas (20-7-3) had plenty of offensive opportunities, including power plays and odd-man rushes, but River Falls’ (23-5-3) swift offense was too much for St. Thomas to handle.

Coach Tom Palkowski said River Falls made the most of St. Thomas’ mistakes.

“They cashed in a couple mistakes that we made early,” Palkowski said. “We didn’t quite capitalize on the few of our better chances early and got behind, then got back into to it.”

Just over eight minutes into the first, River Falls scored following a Tommie turnover, snapping goaltender Alise Riedel’s 204-minute regulation shutout streak. St. Thomas turned the puck over to Falcon forward Chloe Kinsel to the left of Riedel. Kinsel then made a slick deke to get the initial shot off, which Riedel blocked, but Kinsel got her own rebound and flicked it over Riedel’s shoulder.

Nearly two minutes later, River Falls took advantage of another St. Thomas misstep. The Falcons intercepted a Tommie pass at the blue line and caught the Tommies in transition when Kinsel dished the puck to forward Katie Batters. She passed it to forward Kait Mason, who was waiting in the slot and put it past Riedel. Following the goal, Palkowski called a timeout to calm his team down.

“We were a little rattled,” Palkowski said. “It was more just to try and take a deep breath and settle in, and try and get refocused and get our game back.”

In the second period, the Tommies kept making mistakes, including forward Kelsey Barnier’s tripping penalty with nearly seven minutes left in the period, which led to a Falcon power-play goal, which gave the Falcons a healthy, 3-0 lead.

St. Thomas’ fortune improved when forward Christina Rozeske found forward Courtney Umland sitting near the boards at the blue line. Umland then unleashed a slap shot that went top shelf, glove side, making the score 3-1 with just under four minutes to play in the second period. Forward Karina Marette said the Tommie offense performed well but had an identical problem to Friday night’s game against Plattsburgh.

“Our offense did really well this game,” Marette said. “We had a ton of chances, and we couldn’t capitalize on them, which we also struggled with last night as well. But I like how we didn’t give up working hard in the offensive zone.”

After an Umland goal late in the second period and a Tara Baago breakaway opportunity soon after, it seemed the momentum was swinging in the Tommies’ favor. However, Falcon defender Dani Buehrer ended any hope for a St. Thomas comeback 2:52 into the third period. Buehrer made a little deke around a Tommie defender, then shot stick side on Riedel, who got a piece of the puck, but not enough as it trickled across the goal line.

About two minutes later, defender Allie Olson added another goal to the Falcons’ lead.

St. Thomas made the best of a power play opportunity and scored nearly a minute after Olson’s goal. Forward Jenny Saxon saw forward Karina Marette sitting in the slot and fed her the puck. Marette zipped it past Falcon goalie Ashley Kuechle to make it a 5-2 game. The Tommies added another goal with just 14 seconds left in regulation, making it a 5-3 final score.

This was the third meeting this season between these teams. River Falls took the first one 9-3 on Nov. 9, but St. Thomas edged the Falcons 2-1 on Jan. 29 in River Falls.

Even with this loss, this is the best result for any St. Thomas women’s hockey team in the NCAA playoffs. The Tommies graduate nine seniors, including Saxon who said this has been a great year for not just this team, but the Tommie hockey program as well.

“It was a special group,” Saxon said. “It’s even more special to be the first year of the whole program to make it this far. These are the memories we’re going to make for the rest of our life, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group or senior class.”

Palkowski said the experience was great for the team, and he is satisfied with his team’s performance.

“I can’t be any prouder of the kids,” Palkowski said. “The experience moving forward is going to be tremendous for the program. We had an awesome time.”

Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.