Hockey Preview: Blue Devils to host No. 1 ranked Pointers

Blue Devil home games: Live Stats | Live Video | WIAC Weekly Notes | UW-River Falls Live Stats | UW-River Falls Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (13-7-1, 0-2-1 WIAC) host top-ranked UW-Stevens Point (19-0-2, 4-0-0 WIAC), Feb. 1 at 7 p.m., then will be at UW-River Falls (9-8-3, 0-3-1 WIAC), Saturday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. 


WEBCASTS: All UW-Stout home games are scheduled to be broadcast in a live video stream by Blue Devil Video. Live Stats will also be available for home games.

A LOOK AT UW-STOUT:

• The Blue Devils return four seniors, defensemen Mathias Ahman and Joe Kleven, and forwards Gavin Smith and Dylan Zins. Stout has eight juniors, seven sophomores, and 11 freshmen.
• Two freshmen are among the scoring leaders for the Blue Devils. Logan Nelson, the team's leading scorers with 10 goals and six assists, and is one of four players with a team-best four power play goals. Fellow freshman Arturas Laukaitis has nine goals and six assists. Nelson is 69th nationally in goals per game, 33rd nationally among freshman (0.76) in points per game and Laukaitis is 44th (0.71).
• Senior defenseman Mathias Ahman has been clamped down on a bit after his breakout All-American junior season. Ahman currently has eight goals and nine assists, 18th nationally among defensemen. After scoring seven power play goals lasts season, Ahman has four power play goals..
• Conner Valesano leads the team in assists with 11, while Hunter Anderson has 10, Raphael Gosselin, Joe Kleven, Connor Chambers and Mathias Ahman each have eight.
• Tommi Ahlgren has been solid this season, including back-to-back shutouts in November. Ahlgren has a GAA of 2.02 for the season and is 22nd nationally. Ahlgren is 40th nationally in saves percentage (.920), 23rd in winning percentage (12-5-1, .694), tied for 15th in shutouts (2)
• In goal, Brady Meyers has made two appearances, picking up a 3-0 shutout win in his collegiate debut against Trine. He came on in relief to allow one goal and has a goals against average (GAA) of 0.61 and a saves percentage of .967.
• The Blue Devils are averaging 3.3 goals per game, good for a 26th ranking nationally. Stout is surrendering 2.3 goals per game, ranking 17th and have a scoring margin of 1.05, ranking 18th. The Blue Devils' penalty kill is currently sixth in the NCAA Division III (89.8). Stout has a power play percentage of 20.7, 29th nationally.
• Complete Blue Devil 2018-19 Statistics

AHMAN IN NATIONAL STATS LAST SEASON

• Ahman received national attention last season as one of the highest scoring defensemen in all of NCAA Division III, finishing the season with 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points, ranking 16th nationally, averaging 0.85 points, a mark that led the WIAC. Ahman was second in the conference with seven power play goals, ranking 14th among all players nationally in power plays. Among defensemen, Ahman tied for third nationally in total goals. In the WIAC among all players, Ahman ranked seventh in goals scored (11), 10th in points (11-11-22), second in power play points (7-6-13) and 15th in assists (11). Ahman was an All-WIAC first team selection.

BLUE DEVIL SPECIAL TEAMS

• The Blue Devils are 17-82 on the power play (.207), ranked 29th nationally. Logan Nelson, Mathias Ahman and Arturas Laukaitis each have four power play goals. Alex Bowe and Raphael Gosselin each have two power play goals. Lucas Carroll has two shorthanded goals, and is tied for second nationally. Jack Cernohous scored Stout's first shorthanded goal, his first career goal. Trent Olson has one shorthanded goal. The Blue Devils have scored at least one power play goal in 13 games and four times have scored two power play goals in single games.
• On the penalty kill, the Blue Devils are 9-88 (.898), tops in the WIAC, and sixth among the NCAA Division III.

LOTS OF GOALS

• When Stout scored seven goals in a 7-1 win over Northland College, Dec. 8, 2018, it was the most goals scored since scoring seven in a 7-2 win over Aurora University, Jan. 23, 2015. Only two weeks earlier, Stout scored eight goals in an 8-5 win over Concordia University Wisconsin, Jan. 10, 2015. The six goal differential over Northland was the widest since Stout defeated St. Thomas, 8-0, Nov. 7, 2009.

BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS

• Tommi Ahlgren recorded 32 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over Lawrence University, Nov. 16, then took a 4-0 shutout win over No. 7 Marian University, Nov. 17, where he recorded 27 saves. Over the last two games, Ahlgren was able to successfully turn away 10 power play opportunities. The Blue Devils last posted back-to-back shutouts win, Jan. 29, 2011 with a 1-0 win at UW-Superior, and Feb. 3, 2011, a 2-0 win at UW-Eau Claire. The first time Stout put together back-to-back shutout wins was Jan. 29-30, 1999, with two home wins, 4-0, 5-0, over St. Scholastics. Tom Lescovich recorded the back-to-back shutouts in 2011, and Ben Plester and Todd Sether teamed for the 1999 shutouts.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT

• The Blue Devils lost two conference games, falling to UW-Eau Claire, 3-1, Jan. 23, then lost to UW-Superior, 3-2, Jan. 25.
• UW-Eau Claire scored twice in the first period, then added another goal in the third period before Stout broke up the shutout with less than four minutes to play Wednesday at the Fanetti Community Center. Simon Sagissor scored unassisted at 5:10 of the first for the Blugolds. Steen Cooper made it a 2-0 game with 39 seconds remaining in the period. The fourth-ranked Blugolds (17-3-2, 3-1-1 WIAC) scored a power play goal by Austin Redders at 5:05 in the third period. The Blue Devils' (13-6-1, 0-2-1 WIAC) Logan Nelson broke up the shutout at 16:45 of the third on a power play goal. Eau Claire outshot Stout, 23-18. Eau Claire was 1 for 3 on the power play, while Stout was 1 for 6. | Game Story and Statistics
• The Blue Devils defeated St. Mary's University, 4-2, Jan. 17 to close out non-conference play.
• UW-Stout scored the final three goals of the game to come away with a 4-2 non-conference win at Saint Mary's University Jan. 17. The Blue Devils (13-5-1) trailed 2-1 at the end of the first period, but scored twice in the second period to take the lead on goals by Alex Nagel and Austin Jackson, then recorded an empty-net goal by Trent Olson to wrap up the win over the Cardinals (3-11-3). | Game Story and Statistics

Game Stats Tracker

SCOUTING UW-STEVENS POINT

• The Pointers are led by Carter Roo who leads the team in goals with nine and points with 18. Roo has also tallied four power play goals. Tanner Karty leads the team in assists with 12 and also has 18 points on the year. The high scoring Pointers have 13 skaters that have double digit points. Backed up by their four goals a game, they allow 1.48 goals a game. Sophomore Connor Ryckman holds a .929 save percentage and a 1.41 goals against average. Ryckman also has a record of 18-0-1.
• The Pointers have been the top-ranked team by USCHO.com since the Nov. 5, 2018, poll. That's the last 10 polls. The Pointers received all 20 first place votes since the Nov. 19 poll and have received 20 votes every week except Jan. 7 when SUNY-Geneseo received one first place vote and the Pointers 19. The Pointers started the season ranked second, then dropped to fourth in the Oct. 29 poll after a 2-2 tie with Trine University, then edged to the top the following week by one point. The Pointers other tie came Nov. 17, a 1-1 draw at St. Norbert College.
• The Pointers, who own 12 conference titles, return 21 letterwinners from a squad that posted at least 21 victories for the fifth straight season and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championship last season. USenior forward Tanner Karty, the reigning conference Player of the Year, posted a league-high 22 goals, 26 assists and 48 points. Sophomore forward Colin Raver finished second on the team with 25 points, while junior forward Luke McEhlenie led the WIAC with eight power play goals.
• Stevens Point Stats

• #1 Stevens Point went 2-0 on the week defeating #3 UW-Eau Claire at home and traveling to UW-River Falls.
• No. 1-ranked UW-Stevens Point defeated No. 3 UW-Eau Claire Friday at K.B. Willett Arena. This highly anticipated matchup between the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the country, saw the Pointers control most of the game.
• Stevens Point dominated against UW-River Falls winning, 6-2, on Saturday in River Falls. The Pointers, coming off a big 3-1 win over No. 3 UW-Eau Claire the night before, came out firing against UW-River Falls getting goals from six different players. UWSP scored two in the first and then exploded for four in the second.
• Eau Claire Story and River Falls Story

WHEN STOUT AND STEVENS POINT MET LAST YEAR

• UW-Stout pulled to within one goal late in the second period, but second-ranked UW-Stevens Point scored twice in the third period to push their way past the Blue Devils, 5-2, Feb. 2, 2018, at KB Willett Arena. The Pointers (16-4-2, 4-0-1 WIAC) scored three goals in the first period. Luke McElhenie opened the scoring at 4:42 with a power play goal. Colin Raver followed up with a goal at 8:30 of the first and Tanner Karty took advantage of a second power play in the period with a goal at 18:14. But Stout's Jonathan Marzec cut into the lead with a goal at 19:21 of the period, getting assists from Jack Cernohous and Jack Forbort. The Blue Devils (5-14-2, 2-3-0 WIAC) pulled to within a goal at 3-2 when Alex Toscano scored at 19:49 of the second period, getting assists from defensemen Mathias Ahman and Joe Kleven. The Pointers' Zach Zech scored twice in the second, once at 5:24 and again, this time on the power play, at 11:01.
• Third-ranked UW-Stevens Point (18-4-2, 6-0-1) only needed to score one goal in the third period to secure the 2-1 win against UW-Stout (6-15-2, 3-4-0), Feb. 9, 2018,. After playing against each other a week ago, both teams came out of the locker room flying around the ice. The Blue Devils had the first chance to score as Stevens Point sent a guy to the box with just over two minutes into the game. With a man up, Stout could not get anything going on the power play, as the Pointers killed the two minute penalty. Both teams had their scoring chances, but neither scored during the first period. Stevens Point out shot the Blue Devils 10-5.

SCOUTING UW-RIVER FALLS

• The Falcons are led by Senior, Eddie Matsushima. Matsushima has leads the team in goals (13), assists (13), points (26), and penalty minutes (45). Matsushima also has added three power play goals and two short-handed goals. Cayden Cahill has added seven goals and nine assists on the season. Christian Hausinger has 15 points on the season including 13 assists. In net, Zach Quinn has made most of the starts with 14. Quinn has a 2.67 goal against average and a .908 save percentage. Joe Marcouiller has played in seven games and owns a 1.66 goal against average and a .939 save percentage.
• River Falls Stats

• River Falls had a week off from WIAC play, but had a home game against Hamline University. The Falcons ran off with a 4-2 win. The Falcon defense fought off five Piper power play opportunities and a minute and a half of additional attackers.
• Game Story

WHEN STOUT AND RIVER FALLS MET LAST YEAR

• It took two third period goals by UW-Stout (6-14-2, 3-3) to defeat UW-River Falls (6-15-2, 0-6), 3-1, Feb. 3, 2018. The Blue Devils had not won in the last nine games, but fought off the Falcons to move back into third place in the WIAC.
• Joe Kleven scored the game-tying goal as UW-Stout came from behind to tie with at UW-River Falls, 2-2, Feb. 10, in the regular season finale at Hunt Arena. Kleven scored the lone goal of the third period, scoring at 10:20 of the period. Kleven's second goal of the season was assisted by Dylan Zins, who scored earlier to tie the game in the second period.
• Game One Story and Statistics | Game Two Story and Statistics

USCHO.com TOP 15 DIVISION III POLL: The Blue Devils received votes in the 2018-19 USCHO.com poll starting Nov. 18, but dropped out in mid-December. They returned to the "Receiving Votes" category with 10 in the Jan. 7 poll, but dropped out after back-to-back losses to UW-Eau Claire and UW-Superior. Blue Devil 2018-19 opponents ranking in the Top 15 in the Dec. 10 USHCO.com Division III poll are: UW-Stevens Point, 1st (Feb. 1, Feb. 8); UW-Eau Claire, 4th (Nov. 28, Jan. 23) and Augsburg University, 6th. (Jan. 12). St. Thomas is receiving votes (Dec. 6). USCHO.com Division III Poll

TEAM CAPTAINS: Captains for the 2018-19 season are Mathias Ahman, Conner Valesano, Lucas Carroll and Adam Kresl.


AWARDS AND HONORS: 2018-19:

• 2018-19: Tommi Ahlgren was selected as the WIAC Athlete of the Week for the second time this season after stopping 23 shots in 4-2 win over St. Olaf, Jan. 4...Tommi Ahlgren was named the WIAC athlete of the week and to the D3hockey.com Team of the Week, Nov. 20, after posting back-to-back shutout wins over Lawrence (3-0) and seventh ranked Marian (4-0),

UW-STOUT COACH TERRY WATKINS

• The 2018-19 season marks Terry Watkins' (265-316-41) 23rd 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. Watkins played in UW-Stout's first-ever game, but he was a member of the Blue Devils' opponents, St. Paul Groveland, Jan. 19, 1969. St. Paul beat the Blue Devils, 8-4. Watkins enrolled at Stout the following school year and joined the hockey team.
• 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-STEVENS POINT'S TYLER KRUEGER

• Tyler Krueger was hired as head coach on May 31, 2018. He served as interim head coach for the 2017-18 season and led the Pointers to the Frozen Four. UWSP won the regular season WIAC title with an undefeated 6-0-2 record and he led the Pointers to an NCAA Tournament road win at Adrian in the second round to advance to Lake Placid. Under Krueger's tutelage, junior Tanner Karty earned WIAC Player of the Year honors and finished as the national leader in game-winning goals. Karty and goaltender Max Milosek earned ACHA/CCM All-American honors in 2018 under Krueger. He spent the last three seasons on the staff of former head coach Chris Brooks, most recently as associate head coach. He was a pivotal part of the Pointers' three-year run to the National Championship game in 2014, 2015 and 2016. From behind the bench, Krueger helped UWSP win its first WIAC Tournament title and fifth National Championship in 2016. Prior to joining the coaching staff, Krueger was a four-year member of the Pointers hockey team. He skated in 79 games as a Pointer with two goals, 15 assists and a plus/minus of 34 for his career. He captained the 2014 team that reached the NCAA title game.

UW-RIVER FALLS' STEVE FREEMAN

• Steve Freeman returns to the UWRF program as he begins his 23rd season as head coach of the Falcons in 2018-19. He has been the driving force and leader of one of the elite powerhouse college hockey programs in the nation. He is the program's all-time leader in games won. In 2016 he led UWRF to the WIAC regular season championship. In 2015 Freeman led the Falcons to the WIAC playoff Championship including a thirteen game winning streak and 20-7-1 overall record. Freeman has been named Coach of the Year 12 times in his career at UW-River Falls. Freeman is the WIAC all-time leader in games won. He's led the team to the WIAC Championships in 12 of the past 16 seasons. He is the winningest coach in UW-River Falls hockey history and that was accomplished in just six seasons, the shortest period of time of any UWRF coach. Freeman has led the Falcons to 356 wins during his tenure. His teams have averaged nearly 20 wins a season over his 20 years, with a 25 game regular season schedule.

THE CONFERENCES:

• UW-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.

LENDING AN ASSIST: Two different Stout goalies earned assists during the 2015-16 season. Spencer Viele was awarded an assist Nov. 6 against Bethel University, then added a second assist Jan. 29 at UW-Superior and Chase Hollander earned an assist Nov. 21, 2015, against Concordia. The three helpers mark the first time two UW-Stout goalies have gotten an assist in the same year since the team returned to varsity status 20 years ago...When Spencer Viele was awarded an assist against Bethel University, Nov. 6, 2015, he was not the first Stout goalie, and won't be the last, to get an assist. Since the Blue Devil hockey program returned to varsity play during the 1996-97 season, seven goalies have earned at least one assist. Chase Hollander was awarded an assist for his pass as Danny Ray scored against UW-Superior, Jan. 17, 2015. Corey Koop did it during the 2013-14 season, Jeff Stone during the 2008-09 season, and Jake Schuman during the 2004-05 season each recorded an assist. Jeff Dotson did it in 2000-01 as a freshman, then did it again as a senior in 2003-04. Kelly Elde did it twice during the 1996-97 season.

THE LAST TIME...