Hockey Preview: Blue Devils take to the road for the first time this season

Augsburg: Live Stats   |  St. Thomas:  Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAME: The Blue Devils (2-2-0, 0-0-0 WIAC) will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Augsburg College (3-0-1, 1-0-1 MIAC), Friday, Nov. 15 and to 12th ranked University of St. Thomas (4-0-0, 2-0-0 MIAC), Saturday, Nov. 16.

WEBCASTS:  All UW-Stout home games are scheduled to be broadcast in a live video stream by Blue Devil Video. Brady Burzynski and Josh Halling will be on the call throughout the season.  Live Stats should also be available for most home games.

THE 2013-14 BLUE DEVILS (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WIAC):  Kevin O'Donnell, Jordan Tredinnick and Zach Vierling were among Stout's top scorers last season and all three are again in the mix. O'Donnell leads the team with three goals and four assists. Tredinnick has one goal and two assists and Vierling has three assists. Matt Millis has two goals and one assist. So far, 17 Blue Devils have scored a point with 11 having scored a goal. Corey Koop has figured into all four decision so far this season and is postign a goals against average of 2.67.  |  2013-14 Statistics | Complete Preview

2012-13 BLUE DEVILS (10-13-2, 5-13-0 NCHA): After a hot start to the season, Stout finished the 2012-13 season with a 10-15-2 overall record, 5-13-0 in their last season in the NCHA and 2-10-0 in the WIAC.   | 2012-13 Statistics

STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT: Nine different players scored goals and 15 players had points as Stout defeated Hamline University, 10-3, Nov. 8. Craig Lindegard had two goals and Joey Haydock and JOrdan Tredinnick had two assists.  But the next night, the Blue Devils could not find the net until the final minute of the game when they lost to Gustavus Adolphus, 3-1, Nov. 9.   | Hamline Story and Box Score | Gustavus Story and Box Score

SCOUTING AUGSBURG COLLEGE (3-0-1, 1-0-1 MIAC): The Auggies are currently undefeated on the season, downing St. Mary's (6-2), St. Olaf (3-1) and Bethel University (2-1). Augsburg tied with Bethel, 3-3, in the first game of the series with the Royals, then received conference points with a 2-1 shootout win. Nicholas Widing leads the Auggies with three goals and an assist. Mack Ohstead has four assists. Ben McClellan had three goals and Dylan Meier two. Sixteen different players have scored at least one point so far this season. John Bretzman has worked all of the minutes in the goal, posting a 1.70 goals against average and a saves percentage of .920. The Auggies are outscoring their opponents 14-7, and have scored half of their goals in the second period. The Auggies last year were 8-14-3 overall.  |  2012-13 Statistics | 2013-14 Statistics

THE SERIES: The Auggies lead the series at 8-7-1, inlcuding a 5-2 win last season. Stout holds a 3-2-0 advantage over the last five games.

LAST TIME THEY MET: The Blue Devils were outshot 45-32 by the Auggies, but Stout had a much better shot percentage made with a 5-2 win, Nov. 9, 2012, in Menomonie. Stout took a 2-0 lead on goals by Charles Lachance and Scott Bell. The Auggies cut the lead in half on an Andrew Allen goal in the second. Stout broke the game open with three third period goals by Mike Hartviksen, Jordan Tredinnick and Sam Carr. Mark Ohnsted scored a third period goal for Augsburg. Tom Lescovich had 43 saves for Stout. Justin Lochner had 27 for the Auggies. | Story and Box Score

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS (4-0-0, 2-0-0 MIAC): The Tommies are undefeated on the season and are ranked 12th in the Nov. 11 USCHO.com Division III poll. The Tommies have outscored their opponents 14-6 and are coming off a shutout win over St. Mary's. Connor McBride has a team-high three goals, while three Tommies - Alex Altenberndt, Tyler Richter and Thomas Williams - have scored a pair of goals Altenberndt and Nick Nielsen lead the team in scoring with five points. Altenberndt has two goals and three assists. Nielen has one goal and a team-high four assists. Drew Fielding has played all of the minutes between the pipes, fielding a 1.49 goals against average and a saves percentage of .939. The Tommies will host a hot UW-Stevens Point team, Nov. 15. The Tommies last year were 13-11-2 overall.  |  2012-13 Statistics | 2013-14 Statistics

THE SERIES: Stout holds a 10-5-1 lead in the series. The Blue Devils won last year's contest, 3-1. Stout holds a 3-1-1 advantage over the last five games.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Stout got goals from Kevin O'Donnell, Jason Cohen and Garrett Grimstad, one in each period, for a 3-1 win Nov. 13 in the Menomonie. The Tommies Michael Krieg scored a second period power play goal for UST's only goal. Nick Hopper got the win with 27 saves over the 12th ranked Tommies.  Three days later, Hopper defeated 14th ranked UW-Superior and was named the NCHA player of the week.  | Story and Box Score

MIAC AUTHORIZES SHOOTOUTS: The MIAC became the first Division III men's conference in the country to authorize a major standings change. If a game is tied after the five minute overtime, a shootout will occur to decide a winning a team. The format will follow NCAA protocol starting with three shooters for each team. If there is a tie after three rounds, each team offers up one shooter until a winner is declared. Under the new MIAC format, a team will get three points for a regulation game win, two for an overtime or shootout win and one for an OT or shootout loss. No points are earned if you lose in regulation time. Augsburg was part of the first MIAC regular season shootout, Friday, Nov. 8. Following a 3-3 overtime tie, Augsburg defeated Bethel University, 2-1, in the shootout portion.

USCHO.com POLL: St. Thomas is ranked 12th in the Nov. 9 USHCO.com Division III poll. UW-Eau Claire is ranked first, while UW-Stevens Point is ranked 6th. UW-River Falls is receiving votes. Other Blue Devil opponents in the poll: St. Norbert, 2nd; Utica 9th; Oswego State, 10th; St. Thomas 12th; St. Scholastica 13th. St. John's, Lake Forest and Concordia-Moorhead are receiving votes.

RECORDS AND MILESTONES: Kevin O'Donnell has worked his way onto the UW-Stout all-time career scoring list. His 75 total points (31-44-75) ranks him 23rd, his 31 goals ranks him 25th, and his 44 assists rank him 15th. Thirty career goals is the cutoff to appear on the UW-Stout all-time goals list.

AWARDS AND HONORS: Kevin O'Donnell was a first team all-WIAC selection last season.  Jordan Tredinnick and Zach Vierling honorable mention all-WIAC.

THE COACHES: UW-Stout:  Terry Watkins (209-235-28) is in his 18th season as the head coach of the Blue Devils' varsity program. Watkins spent eight years coaching the club team (104-102-16) as Stout prepared to return to varsity status in 1997. Watkins was the 2006-07 NCHA coach of the year when Stout finished in a three-way tie for first. Watkins had a Hall of Fame career at Stout as a defenseman. Stout won a WIAC title in 2010-11, and an NCHA title during the 2006-07 season. Watkins is closing in on 700 games as the head coach of a UW-Stout hockey team (varsity and club). Augsburg College:.Chris Brown, a UW-River Falls graduate, enters his eighth season as head coach of the Augsburg men's hockey team.. In addition to his coaching duties, Brown serves an instructor in the health and physical education department.  Brown has also been a head coach at Marian University and Hamline University. .University of St. Thomas: A member of the 1976 US Olympic team, Jeff Boeser is in his fourth year of coaching his alma mater. Boeser was an assistant coach for the Tommies for more than 25 years before getting the head job in 2010. 

THE CONFERENCES: Stout is a member of the five team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The WIAC is made up of Stout, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior and UW-River Falls. Augsburg and St. Thomas are members of the nine-team Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Other teams include Hamline, Gustavus Adolphus, Concordia-Moorhead, St. Olaf, Bethel, St. John's and St. Mary's

STOUT'S RANKED HISTORY: Stout finished the 2008-09 season as the second ranked team in the USCHO.com poll. With the exception of the Nov. 17, 2008, USCHO.com poll, Stout had been ranked in the top 15 since the Nov. 13, 2006, poll. Stout made their first appearance in the poll on Nov. 27, 2000, when they received one vote, then moved up to 10th the following week. The 2008-09 season ending poll matched Stout's previous high mark of second  in the Jan. 29, 2007, poll. Stout opened the 2009-10 season ranked third, their highest-ever season-opening ranking, but fell out of the polls midway through the season and returned to the top 15, Nov. 22, 2010. Stout was in the 2011-12 USCHO.com poll early in the season, dropped out, returned again, but  dropped out. Stout returned to the poll after a win over top-ranked St. Norbert, Jan. 18, garnering eight votes in the Jan. 21 poll, effectively ranking the Blue Devils 19th. | USCHO.com Division III poll

UP NEXT: The Blue Devils will host St. Scholastica, Friday, Nov. 22, then will be at St. Norbert College, Saturday, Nov. 23.