MENOMONIE, Wis. – The UW-Stout Blue Devils battled hard but came up short in their home finale, falling 4-1 to 11th-ranked UW-Superior on Saturday night at the Fanetti Community Center.
The two teams skated to a scoreless first period, with goaltender Tyler Masternak standing tall for the Blue Devils, turning aside all 11 shots he faced. Stout generated offensive chances of its own, firing nine shots on Superior netminder Kobe Grant, but neither team could break through.
Superior opened the scoring early in the second period on the power play, as Chris Ishmael redirected a shot past Masternak at 4:27. Less than two minutes later, Logan Nickerson capitalized on a turnover in the neutral zone, finishing off a quick transition play to put the Yellowjackets up 2-0.
The Blue Devils responded early in the third period.. Maksis Brimanis fired a shot through traffic at 3:40, beating Grant for his third goal of the season. Jacob Halvorson and Noah Tyrrell picked up assists on the play as Stout trimmed the deficit to 2-1.
However, UW-Superior wasted little time regaining control. Just 59 seconds later, Reed Stark buried a rebound to restore the two-goal lead. The Blue Devils pressed for offense late, pulling Masternak for the extra skater, but Superior sealed the game with Stark's empty-net, power-play goal at 19:50.
Masternak finished with 26 saves between the pipes, while Grant stopped 23 shots for the Yellowjackets. Stout was unable to convert on its lone power-play opportunity, while Superior went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.
Up Next
UW-Stout (11-10-2, 4-8-1 WIAC) will conclude the regular season with a rivalry showdown at UW-Eau Claire on Friday, Feb. 14. The Blue Devils will look to gain momentum heading into the WIAC Tournament with a strong performance against the Blugolds. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Arena.
