MENOMONIE, Wis. — The UW-Stout Blue Devils erupted for eight goals — their highest home output since potting eight against Concordia Wisconsin in 2015 — to rout Bethel University 8-2 in front of a raucous crowd of 546 at the Fanetti Community Center on Friday night.
Sophomore forward Hayden Stocks stole the show with a four-point performance (2 goals, 2 assists), powering the Blue Devils (2-1-0) to a convincing win. Stout struck early and often, scoring four times in the opening frame — all on special teams — to seize control.
Maksis Brimanis opened the scoring at 12:27 with a power-play marker, followed by Jake McAlpine (16:19, PP) and Will Sinclair (18:54, EV, GW). Stocks capped the first-period barrage at 19:59 with a man-advantage tally assisted by Kullan Daikawa and Nicholas Stevens.
Bethel (2-2-0) answered in the second with goals from Nate Mcisaac (10:45) and Tyler Braccini (18:58), but Stout responded with authority. Stocks netted his second at 9:57, Stevens added a shorthanded strike at 13:41, and the Blue Devils carried a 6-2 lead into the third.
The third period saw Evan Luxford score shorthanded and unassisted at 7:10, followed by Nicolas Pigeon's even-strength goal at 8:19 to seal the 8-2 final.
Stout went 3-for-7 on the power play and converted twice shorthanded, while Bethel was 0-for-6 with the man advantage. The Blue Devils outshot the Royals 34-32 and won 44 of 81 faceoffs, led by Daikawa (14-11) and Pigeon (14-7).
Freshman Goaltender Sebastian Monaco earned his first collegiate win with 23 saves through 40:49 before giving way to Ryan Knight (9 saves).
Up Next The Blue Devils return to the Fanetti Community Center tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. for a non-conference clash with St. John's (MN).
