Hockey Preview: Blue Devils looking for two in a row, host Hamline

Blue Devil home games: Live Stats | Live Video | WIAC Weekly Notes | at Bethel Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: After a Christmas break, the Blue Devils (4-8-1, 3-3-0 WIAC) return to action when they travel to Bethel University (3-8-2, 2-2-2 MIAC), Friday, Jan. 10, then will host Hamline University (2-10-3, 1-4-2 MIAC) Saturday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.  The Hamline game is sponsored by Halverson Brothers Plumbing and Heating.

BLUE DEVILS LIVE:  Join the Blue Devils every second Thursday of the at the Stout Ale House for Blue Devil Live, a live radio show with host Pete Knutson, the voice of the Blue Devils. Throughout the show, Knutson will talk to Blue Devil coaches and student-athletes about what is coming up and what happened last week. The next broadcast is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 13 at noon.

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.

THE BLUE DEVILS SO FAR THIS SEASON:

• The Blue Devils split a pair of conference games with UW-River Falls, each taking a win on the opponent's ice. The Blue Devils won at River Falls, 3-1, Dec. 13, but the Falcons turned the tables the next night with a 3-2 win. Stout is currently in fifth place in the WIAC with a 3-3-0 record. Stout has gotten conference wins over UW-River Falls, UW-Superior and conference newcomer Northland College. The Blue Devils have dropped conference games to UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point and River Falls. The teams will play three conference games against each other.
• The Blue Devils are averaging 2.5 goals per contest and are giving up 3.6 goals. Konnar Dechaine leads the Blue Devils in points with eight, scoring four goals and has four assists. Raphael Gosselin and Alex Nagel each have two goals and five assists for seven points. Logan Nelson and Vladislav Sorokin share the team lead in goals with five each. Both have added an assist.  Evan Butcher has a goal and five assists. Hunter Anderson, whose eligibility expired with the end of the first semester, finished his final season with four goals and an assist. Connor Chambers, and Alex Stuckert each have four assists and Alex Bowe, Kobe Keller and Riley Jensen each have three assists.
• In net, the Blue Devils have been able to play all three of their goalies. Brennan Kitchen has seen action in nine games and is 3-5-1, kicking out 237 shots for a saves percentage of .905 and a GAA of 2.86. Kitchen earned his first collegiate win, taking a 4-2 win over UW-Superior, Dec. 7. Evan Bisek is 1-3-0 with 198 minutes of work between the pipes. Bisek has a saves percentage of .897 and a GAA of 3.33. Brady Meyers has seen action in three games and has made 30 saves over a shade under 60 minutes.
• 2019-20 Statistics | 2019 WIAC Statistics | 2019 Division III Statistics

A LOOK AT UW-STOUT:

• The Blue Devils have five juniors and five seniors. Senior returners include Hunter Anderson, a 2017-18 All-WIAC honorable mention forward, forward Adam Kresl, defensemen Trent Olson and Connor Chambers and goalie Evan Bisek. The junior class along with Carroll includes defensemen Jack Cernohous and Alex Bowe and forwards Konnar Dechaine and Evan Butcher.
• Anderson scored two goals and added 11 assists. Chambers passed off 10 assists. Olson had three goals and four assists and Bowe had three goals and three assists. Kresl had a goal and five assists, while Cernohous had two goals and three assists. Carroll had seven goals and seven assists.
• The Blue Devils have 10 freshmen and are joined by seven sophomores, most of whom saw a great deal of action last season. The freshman class has one goalie, two defensemen and seven forwards.
• Sophomore Logan Nelson is the lone Blue Devils to have earned all-conference honors last season, earning an honorable mention nod. Senior Hunter Anderson was an honorable mention pick in 2017-18.
• The sophomore class, led by Nelson, is made up of forwards Raphael Gosselin, Alex Nagel and Landon Lushanko, defensemen Tomi Varjonen and Alec Skar and goalie Brady Meyers. Gosselin was among Stout's scoring leaders with five goals and nine assists. Nagel had five goals and six assists.
• The incoming freshman class is made up of forwards Peter Verstegan, Vladislov Sorokin, Riley Jensen, Cam Olstad, Dylan Mattson, Garett Giertuga and Kobe Keller; defensemen Noah Carson and Alex Stuckert and goalie Brennan Kitchen.
• Goalies: Bisek is a senior who has seen limited action over the past couple of years and allowed no goals over two-plus periods in Stout's opening exhibition game against St. Mary's University two weeks ago. At 6-foot-3, Meyers fills up a lot of the net area. Meyers saw action in three games last year and allowed only one goal over 112 minutes played. Freshman goalie Brennan Kitchen brings four years of juniors experience to the team.
• The Blue Devils averaged 3.0 goals per game and gave up 2.6 goals per game last season. Stout had a power play percentage of 19.1 and a penalty kill of 87.2.
• Complete Blue Devil 2018-19 Statistics

BLUE DEVIL SPECIAL TEAMS

• The Blue Devils have scored five power play goals against 38 opportunities (13.2 percent).
• The Blue Devils have allowed five power plays goal against 40 opportunities. (87.5 percent). The Blue Devils are 13th nationally in penalty kill.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT

• The Blue Devils pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a 3-2 overtime win over Bethel University Friday. Stout scored all of their goals in the third period or later and did not lead until the final score. Konnar Dechaine scored with 6:31 left in the game to put Stout on the board and captain Adam Kresl tied the game with an extra attacker on the ice with 29 seconds left in the game. Dechaine assisted on Kresl's goal. Raphael Gosselin scored his second goal of the season when he nailed the game winner two minutes into overtime. Peter Verstegen assisted on the goal. Brandon Kitchen had 28 saves.
• It's been three weeks since the Blue Devils skated in game competition and most recently split a pair of conference games with UW-River Falls, downing the Falcons 3-1 in River Falls, Dec. 13, but falling 3-2 to the Falcons Dec. 14 in Menomonie
• UW-Stout scored three unanswered goals to take a come-from-behind conference win Dec. 13 at UW-River Falls in Hunt Arena. The Blue Devils spotted the Falcons a 1-0 lead on a first period goal by Max Doner at 6:51  of the the opening stanza. It was all Blue Devils after that, but not until after a scoreless second period. Senior Hunter Anderson opened the scoring parade for the Blue Devils, knotting the score only 10 seconds into the third period, getting assists from Adam Kresl and Kobe Keller. The Blue Devils took the lead at 10:15 when Vladislav Sorokin scored his fifth goal of the season in what would prove to be the game-winning-goal on assists by Alex Stuckert and Evan Butcher. Logan Nelson gave Stout a two goal lead a little over five minutes later, scoring his fifth goal over the last three games, with assists by Stuckert and Alex Bowe. Brennan Kitchen earned his second consecutive win of the season, stopping 26 shots. Zach Quinn absorbed the loss for the Falcons, matching Kitchen's 26 saves.  | UW-River Falls Game Story and Statistics
• UW-Stout was looking to win their third WIAC game in a row, but UW-River Falls scored three goals in the first eight minutes of the game to take a commanding lead. UW-Stout added a goal late in the second period and scored with 14:11 left to play in the game to make it a one goal game, but River Falls held them to no goals down the stretch to win 3-2.  | UW-River Falls Game Story and Statistics

SCOUTING BETHEL UNIVERSITY

• Since beating UW-Stout in the season opener, the Royals have only found two other wins, a 3-1 conference win over St. Thomas, Nov. 22, and a 3-2 win over Hamline University, Dec. 6. Josiah Roen has five goals and an assist and Dylan Giorgio has a goal and five assists to lead the Royals with six points each. Ridge Gerards has started nine games and has a 3-5-1 record with a GAA of 3.77 and a saves percentage of .891. As a team, Bethel is averaging 18 goals per contest and giving up 4.2 goals.  
• Royal Stats

THE ROYALS LAST TIME OUT

• In its return to the ice following a three week break from competition, the Bethel University men's hockey team fell to Marian 5-2 in the Superior Holiday Tournament opener. I Marian Story and Stats
• Bethel University closed out the Superior Showdown with a 5-2 loss to Tufts Sunday evening. Bethel struck first blood as Zak Albers took momentum from his first collegiate goal last night scoring at the 12:02 mark in the first. Jordan Stone picked up his second assist of the year on the play. Tufts answered with the equalizer 49 seconds later before scoring on the power play with 1:20 remaining in the opening period. After an unsuccessful power play in the first, BU capitalized on its second chance where Nick Ketola (Joy McWilliams, Curtis Hansen) tied things up at 2-2 in the second period. The Jumbos took back the lead three minutes later starting a run of three unanswered goals, one of which was an empty net in the closing minutes.. I Tufts Story and Stats

WHEN STOUT AND BETHEL LAST MET

• In the first game of the 2019-20 season, Stout  made a two goal comeback, but fell to Bethel. With only 48 seconds left to play in the game, Jarrett Cammarata came up big for the Royals and scored on a power play goal for the 3-2 win in Menomonie.  | Game Story and Statistics

SCOUTING HAMLINE UNIVERSITY

• The Pipers will be looking to get their first win since Nov. 22 when they downed St. Olaf in a conference contest. Hamline is averaging 2.2 goals per game and giving up 3.5 goals. Jackson Bond leads the way for the Pipers, scoring 10 goals and nine assists. Weiland Parrish has four goals and seven assists. Bailey Martin, Zak Lambrecht and Brandon Bissett each have three goals. Sam Nelson has started 10 games in the net and has a saves percentage of .915.
• Piper Stats

THE PIPERS LAST TIME OUT

• Jackson Bond scored two goals for the Hamline but Carter Roo scored three goals for UW-Stevens Point as the Pointers took a 5-2 win over the Pipers, Friday, Jan. 10. Roo scored the first two goals of the game to give the Pointers a 2-0 lead, but Bon scored the third goal of the game to cut the lead in half. Roo got the hat trick minutes later and the Pointers scored on a power play goal to take a 4-1 lead, then add another goal just over a minute in the third period. Bond scored two minutes later for the final goal of the game. Sam Nelson recorded 38 saves.  I Stevens Point Story and Stats
• In their first game in nearly three weeks, the Hamline men's hockey team (2-9-3) came up short against St. Olaf (2-11) in a non-conference contest at TRIA Rink on Saturday night. This was the third meeting between the Pipers and the Oles this season, as Hamline won their first matchup 4-1 in Northfield and St. Olaf won the second matchup 4-3 in overtime in St. Paul. The Pipers got off to a fast start in the game, with sophomore Brandon Bissett scoring his third goal of the year off a pass from sophomore John Sullivan. Sophomore Brendan Sheehan also picked up an assist on the play.. I St. Olaf Story and Stats

WHEN STOUT AND HAMLINE LAST MET

•  It didn't take long for UW-Stout to find the back of the net against Hamline University and used that momentum to secure a 2-1 home victory Jan. 11, 2019.  After scoring five goals on Tuesday, the Blue Devils kept the momentum going in their matchup against Hamline. It took Stout a little over a minute to score the first goal of the game. Stout got goals from Conner Valesano in the first period and Dylan Zins the game winner midway through the final period.   | Game 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 and have not returned. 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, 6th (Nov. 28, Jan. 23) and Augsburg University, 7th. (Jan. 12). St. Thomas (Dec. 6) and Concordia-Moorhead (Nov. 9, Nov. 10) are receiving votes. USCHO.com Division III Poll

TEAM CAPTAINS: Captains for the 2019-20 season are Adam Kresl, Lucas Carroll and Connor Chambers.


AWARDS AND HONORS: 2018-19:

• 2019-20: After scoring two goals each night in a loss to UW-Stevens Point and a win over UW-Superior, Logan Nelson was selected as the WIAC Athlete of the Week...2018-19: Logan Nelson earned All-WIAC honorable mention honors in 18-19 and is the only returning all-conference pick...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 2019-20 season marks Terry Watkins' (269-330-43) 24th 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.
• Watikins is second on the WIAC all-time wins list.
• 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.
• Watkins recently moved into sole possession of second place on the conference's all-time wins list, surpassing former UW-Stevens Point head coach Joe Baldarotta's 265 victories.

BETHEL UNIVERSITY'S CHRIS MCKELVIE

• Chris McKelvie enters his second season at the helm of the Bethel men's hockey program after being hired in April of 2018. Previously McKelvie served for two seasons at NCAA DI Army West Point as an assistant coach after a seven year professional playing career. Became the ninth head coach in the 40 year history of the program. Recorded best MIAC winning percentage (.312) for the program in last six seasons, Matched best overall winning percentage (.200) over last six seasons, Goaltender Ridge Gerads ranked 14th in the nation and second in the MIAC with a.934 save percentage in nine contests

HAMLINE UNIVERSITY'S CORY LAYLIN

• Cory Laylin was named the head coach of the Hamline men's hockey team prior to the 2014-15 season. The St. Cloud, Minn. native, whose first coaching assignment was an assistant at Hamline, made a smashing return to the Pipers in 2014. After winning just three games the previous two seasons, Hamline finished in fifth place in conference play and then swept through the MIAC playoffs with three road victories. That earned them their second ever berth in the NCAA Division III men's hockey tournament. They finished the year with a 14-11-4 overall record.  The Pipers built on that success during their next two seasons, making the playoffs again in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. In his second season, the Pipers ended with a 10-12-5 record to place fifth in the league and in his third, HU finished fourth with a 10-10-6 overall record.

THE CONFERENCE:

• UW-Stout is a member of the six-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. Northland College joined the league this season.

LENDING AN ASSIST: Goalie Evan Bisek recorded an assist against Marian University, Nov. 2, 2019...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.
 
BLUE DEVIL HAT TRICKS (since 2008)
Mathias Ahman vs. St. Olaf College, Jan. 5, 2018
Joe Anderson vs. Gustavus Adolphus, Jan. 9, 2016
Tyler Cayemberg vs. Concordia University Wisconsin, Nov. 21, 2015
Austin Nelson vs. Aurora University, Jan. 23, 2015
Branden Gay vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 2, 2011
Branden Gay vs. St. Norbert, Feb. 12, 2011
Scott Motz vs. St. Mary's University, Jan. 13, 2009
Nick Klaren vs. Northland, Nov. 4, 2008
Scott Motz vs. Northland, Nov. 4, 2008
Derek Hanson vs. Augsburg, Oct. 31, 2008
Derek Hanson vs. Concordia, Oct. 24, 2008

THE LAST TIME...
Two Stout players recorded a hat trick: Scott Motz, Nick Klaren vs. Northland College, Nov. 4, 2008
A Stout player recorded two or more power play goals: 2, Mathias Ahman vs. St. Olaf College, Jan. 5, 2018
A Stout player recorded a shorthanded goal: Trent Olson vs. St. Mary's University, Jan. 17, 2019
Stout scored two empty net goals: Jake Useldinger, Nolan Kirley vs. Saint Mary's University, Jan. 16, 2016
A Stout goalie recorded 40-45 saves: 41, Tommi Ahlgren vs. UW-Superior, Nov. 30, 2018
A Stout goalie recorded 46-50 saves: 49, Spencer Viele vs. Aurora University, Jan. 24, 2015
A Stout goalie recorded 50-55 saves: 51, Corey Koop vs. UW-Eau Claire, Feb. 20, 2014
A Stout goalie recorded 55-plus saves: 59, Corey Koop vs. UW-Stevens Point, Dec. 7, 2013
A Stout player recorded four goals: 4, Brad Weappa vs. Hamline University, Jan. 18, 2000
A Stout goalie recorded an assist: Evan Bisek vs. Marian University, Nov. 2, 2019
A Stout team scored 5-7 goals: 7 vs. Northland College (W 7-1), Dec. 8, 2018
A Stout team scored 8-10 goals: 8 vs. Concordia Wisconsin (W 8-5), Jan. 10, 2015
A Stout team scored 10-plus goals: 11 vs. Northland College (W 11-2), Nov. 4, 2008
Stout posted a shutout: vs. Marian University, Nov. 17, 2018 (3-0); vs. Lawrence University, Nov. 16, 2018 (4-0); vs. Trine University (3-0), Oct. 26, 2018 vs. St. Olaf College (3-0), Dec. 10, 2016; Gustavus Adolphus (0-0), Nov. 7, 2015
Stout recorded back-to-back shutouts: Nov. 16, 2018, 3-0, vs. Lawrence University, Nov. 17, 2018, 4-0, vs. Marian University
Stout was shut out: vs. St. John's University (5-0), Nov. 16. 2019
Both teams played to a scoreless tie: vs. Gustavus Adolphus, Nov. 7, 2015


BLUE DEVIL RECORD BOOK
Individual Records
Goals by Game: 8, Glenn LaChapelle vs. UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 18, 1973
Assists by Game: 9, Chuck Gerber vs. UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 18, 1973
Points by Game: 9, Glenn LaChapelle (8/1) vs. UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 18, 1973; Chuck Gerber (0/9) vs. UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 18, 1973;
Saves by Game: 67, Tom Slupe vs. Wisconsin JV, Feb. 14, 1970
Goals by Season: 43, Glenn LaChappelle, 1972-73
Assists by Season: 28, Derek Hanson, 2008-09
Points by Season: 65, Glenn LaChapelle (43/22), 1972-73
Saves by Season: 850, Tad Larson, 1977-78
Goalie Win/Loss Record by Season: 21-5-2, Matt Koenig, 2008-09
Goals by Career: 80, Glenn LaChapelle, 1970-73
Assists by Career: 80, Derek Hanson, 2006-10; Scott Motz, 2006-10
Points by Career: 140, Derek Hanson (60/80), 2006-10
Saves by Career: 2480, Tad Larson, 1974-78
Goalie Win/Loss Record by Career: 44-16-4, Matt Koenig, 2005-09
Fastest First Period Goal: 10 seconds, Mark Ryder vs. UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 17, 1973
Fastest Second Period Goal: 6 seconds, Mike Kautz vs. UW-Stevens Point, Jan. 20, 2006
Fastest Third Period Goal: 6 seconds, Duane Johnson vs. St. Cloud State, Dec. 2, 1978
Fastest Overtime Goal: 6 seconds, Curt Moore vs. Concordia, Nov. 26, 1976

Team Records
Most Goals in a Period: 11, vs. UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 17, 1973
Most Goals in a Game: 21 vs. UW-Stevens Point, Feb. 17, 1973
Most Goals Allowed in a Game: 18, vs. Wisconsin JV, Feb. 14, 1970
Most Penalty Minutes: 21-54 vs. UW-Eau Claire, Dec. 13, 1997
Most Penalty Minutes, Both Teams: 35-96 vs. UW-Eau Claire, Dec. 13, 1997

HOME ICE: The Dunn County Board in 2015 approved renaming the Dunn County Ice Arena the Fanetti Community Center in recognition of Marilyn Fanetti's contribution to fundraising efforts undertaken by the Menomonie Youth Hockey Association to remodel and add to the arena at the Dunn County Recreation Park. Fanetti donated $370,000 to the project and asked that the hockey arena and new community room be named for her family.

LIGHTING THE LAMP: It will now be easier to see when the the Blue Devils score. The Fanetti Community Center last summer received an upgrade in their lighting. The lighting in the ice arena was recently replaced with LED lights. The replacement was helped by Xcel Energy through their incentive program, Focus on Energy. The incentives offered by Xcel Energy and Focus on Energy - including bonus incentives through the program's limited-time Community Small Business Offerings (CSBO) campaign - helped offset the cost of the Menomonie Youth Hockey Association Ice Board's investment. | Complete Story

UP NEXT: The Blue Devils will host UW-River Falls, Tuesday, Jan. 14, then will play a couple of MIAC schools they met earlier in the season in a pair of exhibition games. Stout will be at St. Mary's University, Friday, Jan. 17 and at St. Olaf College, Saturday, Jan. 18.