Hockey Preview: Defending national champion comes to the Dunn Co

Live Stats | Live Audio (Friday only) | Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAME: After nearly two months away from the Dunn County Ice Arena, the Blue Devils (6-11-0, 2-2-0 WIAC) are in the midst of a five game home stand, their longest of the season. Stout will host a two-game series against defending national champion UW-Eau Claire (12-4-1, 1-2-1 WIAC), Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1.  The puck is slated to drop both nights at 7:30 p.m. All of Stout's games for the remainder of the season are WIAC contests.

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. Check out the Blue Devil Webcast page for a complete listing of home and away broadcasts. The January 31 UW-Eau Claire game will be broadcast by WMEQ 880 AM radio and will also be available in a live audio stream.

THE 2013-14 BLUE DEVILS (6-11-0, 2-2-0 WIAC): Kevin O'Donnell leads Stout with nine goals and eight assistsO'Donnell currently ranks 12th on the UW-Stout all-time scoring list. Zach Vierling exploded for him most offensive weekend, tallying three goals and two assists combined three weeks ago against St. John's and Concordia-Moorhead, Vierling is second on the team in scoring with six goals and nine assists. Jordan Tredinnick has five goals and seven assists, while Danny Ray has four goals and six assists.   Matt Millis has four goals and four assists, while team captain Logan Maly has three goals and six assists. Tyler Cayemberg and Joe Haydock each have a pair of goals and  four assists. .  Twenty different Blue Devils have scored at least one point, while 15 have scored at least one goal, and 19 have scored at least one assist. Corey Koop has spent the most time in the net, posting a 3.08 goals against average and a saves percentage of .917. His 59 saves against nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point in December was the most by a Stout goalie in more than 10 years in a single game. As a team, Stout is being outscored, 57-47(3.4-2.8). Stout has lost five games by one goal and has won five games by one goal.  |  2013-14 Statistics

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Blue Devils have scored 13 power play goals, going 13-of-58 (22.4 percent). Kevin O'Donnell, Matt Millis, Danny Ray and Logan Maly each have two power play goals. Craig Lindegard, Justin Moody, Hunter Scott, Zach Vierling and Jake Useldinger each have a power play goal.  Stout is in the middle of the pack in penalty kill, allowing 14 power play goals in 79 opportunities (17.7  percent). Stout also has two shorthanded goals with Moody and Nolan Kirley scoring the shorties. 

STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT: Stout allowed three second period goals and lost 4-3 to St. John's University, Jan. 25. Trailing 4-1, freshman Chase Hollander entered the game midway through the second period and did not allow a goal the rest of the way as the Blue Devils' Logan Maly and Zach Vierling scored in the third period to pull to within one goal.  |  St. John's Story and Box Score

LAST TIME THEY MET: The Blugolds won all three contests last year, Eau Claire won at Hobbs Ice Center, 4-2, 4-1, in November, 2012, then took the game, 4-3, at the Dunn County Ice Arena in February, 2013. The final game of the season did not come without controversy. Eau Claire's Davin Mantha scored a goal at the buzzer to lift the Blugolds to a controversial 4-3 win in Menomonie. Mantha's shot came as the clock wound down to zero. Eau Claire arms went up in celebration, Stout protested the call, saying it did not beat the buzzer. The three officials huddled and after much discussion, awarded the goal and the game to Eau Claire.  |  Game One | Game Two | Game Three

ICE TIME: Nolan Kirley, Matt Millis, Zach Vierling, Derek Sand, Justin Moody, Jordan Tredinnick, Logan Maly, Jake Useldinger, Riley Colvard and Corey Koop have played in all 17 games this season.

TURNING IT UP: Since coming off Christmas break, Jan. 3, Stout's scoring load has a seen a shift.  Zach Vierling has become the Blue Devils' leading scorer over the last seven games. The junior forward has lit the lamp four times and added five assists, scoring at least one assist in five of the last seven games.. Junior defender/forward Jordan Tredinnick and senior defender Logan Maly have also been picking up on their scoring. Since Jan. 3, Tredinnick has scored three goals and four assists. Maly has pushed in two goals and four assists. Tredinnick and Maly have also scored at least one assist in five of the last seven games. Stout's leading scorer Kevin O'Donnell has scored two goals and three assists in that same time span.

SUCCESSFUL DEBUT: Freshman goalkeeper Chase Hollander made a successful debut Saturday, Jan. 25, when he kept St. John's off the scoreboard for the more than 31 minutes he played. Hollander got the call with the Blue Devils trailing 4-1 midway through the second period, then stuffed the Johnnies with nine saves in the second and 12 saves in the third. Hollander's imitation of a brick wall allowed Stout to climb back into the game with two third period goals. Hollander was pulled with 34 seconds remaining to put an extra attacker on the ice.

LENDING A HAND: When goalie Corey Koop was awarded an assist on Nov. 23 against St. Norbert, it was the first time a Stout goalie had earned an assist since Jake Schuman picked up an assist against Lawrence University, Nov. 28, 2004.

FRIGHTFUL FRIDAYS: Of the seven Friday games the Blue Devils have played, they have only won one, a 10-3 win over Hamline University, Nov. 8.

SCOUTING UW-EAU CLAIRE (12-4-1, 1-3-1 WIAC):  The Blugolds are coming off some heady times. Before losing to UW-River Falls Saturday, the Blugolds had a seven game winning streak, which included an NCAA Division III record five straight shutouts and posted a national record of 354 minutes, 25-seconds of shutout minutes. Eau Claire is led by Joe Krause and Jon Waggoner, who each have eight goals and eight assists. Jack Callahan has three goals to go along with his 12 assists. David Donnellan has eight goals and six assists. Ethan Nauman has six goals and six assists. Chharles Thauwald has four goals and eight assists. Tyler Green has twice as many minutes between the pipes as Jay Deo. Green has a 7-4-0 record  with a 2.25 goals against average and a saves percentage of 92.4 percent. Deo has yet to be beaten with a 5-0-1 record. He is posting a 0.66 GAA and a 97.0 saves percentage. The Blugolds are outscoring their opponents, 65-31 (3.8-1.8). The Blugolds have six shutouts on the season and additional four games where they have held their opponent to one goal.|  2013-14 Statistics

LAST TIME OUT: The Blugolds saw their scoreless streak come to an end, but went on to demolish UW-River Falls, 8-3, Jan. 24, then saw their seven game winning streak halted with a 3-1 loss to the Falcons, Jan. 25.  | Game One | Game Two

THE SERIES: Eau Claire won the last three meetings, but Stout took two of three games during the 2011-12 season.

USCHO.com POLL: UW-Eau Claire is reanked seventh in the latest USCHO.com poll.   Blue Devil opponents in the poll: UW-Stevens Point (3rd), St. Norbert (2nd), St Thomas (8th), UW-Eau Claire (7th), Utica (12th), UW-River Falls (10th) and Gustavus Adolphus (15th). St. Scholastica is receiving votes. Eau Claire is also ranked seventh in the D3hockey.com poll.

RECORDS AND MILESTONES: Kevin O'Donnell has continued to work his way up the UW-Stout all-time career scoring list. His 85 total points (37-48 - 85) ranks him 12th on the UW-Stout all-time scoring list, just behind Rick Beckfield (1975-79),who has 86 points (49-37). His 37 goals ranks him 20th, behind Nate Legler's (2000-04) 39 goals. His 48 assists ranks ties O'Donnell with Sam Carr (2009-13) and Glen LaChapelle (1970-73) for 10th on the all-time list.

AWARDS AND HONORS: Logan Maley was the WIAC player of the week after being named to the Oswego Classic all-tournament team...Corey Koop was the WIAC and the UW-Stout Northwestern Mutual player of the week, Dec. 10, after making 59 saves against nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point...Kevin O'Donnell was a first team all-WIAC selection last season; Jordan Tredinnick and Zach Vierling honorable mention all-WIAC.

TEAM CAPTAINS: Logan Maly is the team captain, while Kevin O'Donnell and Zach Vierling are assistant captains for the 2013-14 season.

THE COACHES: UW-Stout:  Terry Watkins (213-244-28) 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 reached 700 games as the head coach of a UW-Stout hockey team (varsity and club) when the Blue Devils played UW-Stevens Point, Dec. 7, 2013. UW-Eau Claire:. Matt Loen is in his seventh year as the head coach of the Blugolds. A former Blugold player, Loen was an assistant coach with Eau Claire before taking over the head coaching reigns.

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.

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 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 wrap up a five game homestand when they host UW-Stevens Point, Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8.