De Pere, Wis. – The UW-Stout Blue Devils delivered a statement performance Friday night, knocking off No. 3 St. Norbert 6–4 on the road in De Pere. St. Norbert has only given up six goals in a game two times in the last three seasons-- against the Blue Devils tonight and against the Blue Devils last season in Menomonie.
UW-Stout came out flying and dictated play over the opening five minutes, but it was St. Norbert that struck first. Ethan Byrne picked his spot from the outside of the right circle, beating Sebastian Monaco blocker side high to open the scoring, with Gustav Portillo earning the assist. Later in the period, Byrne returned the favor, dropping a pass to Portillo, who walked to the front of the net and finished backhand far side past an aggressive Monaco to give the Green Knights a 2–0 lead after one.
St. Norbert extended the lead early in the second to 3-0 on a rebound goal through traffic, but the Blue Devils answered quickly. A wayward pass by a Green Knight defenseman landed on the stick of Felix Cadieux-Fredette at the point, and his shot was tipped home by William Schofield to put Stout on the board.
With the game opening up during four-on-four action, Monaco came up with a key stop on Calvin Hanson, denying a five-hole attempt as Hanson cut across the crease one on one with Monaco. Moments later, UW-Stout pulled within one on a textbook transition play. After Arhip Sidarovich poked the puck past a pinching defender, he carried it through the neutral zone and fed Tristan Therrien on a 2-on-1, where Therrien finished five-hole to make it 3–2.
St. Norbert answered on an odd-man rush to restore a two-goal cushion, but the momentum swung again late in the second when the Green Knights were assessed a five-minute major. During the extended power play, a loose puck popped out front and Kullan Daikawa buried it to pull Stout within one heading into the second intermission.
The Blue Devils wasted no time in the third. Just 12 seconds in, McCabe Dvorak drove hard to the net, creating a rebound that Jake McAlpine finished to tie the game at 4–4.
Shortly after, Stout faced a daunting challenge when a pair of penalties gave St. Norbert a 5-on-3 advantage. Monaco stood tall, highlighted by a massive windmill glove save on a Green Knight attacker stationed at the top of the crease. UW-Stout killed off both penalties, and Monaco continued to shine, including a desperation cross-crease save on a back-door tap-in attempt by Curtis Hammond with roughly 14 minutes remaining.
Stout earned their first lead of the game after a failed St. Norbert breakout. Connor Mariner corralled the puck at the point and fired a shot that deflected its way through traffic and into the net, giving the Blue Devils their first lead of the night at 5–4.
St. Norbert pushed late, earning a power play with just over five minutes to play, but UW-Stout's penalty kill was rock solid. The PK1 unit held firm in its own zone for more than a minute before Monaco smothered a dangerous chance, allowing the second unit to finish the kill.
With the Green Knights net empty in the final minute, an errant pass in the St. Norbert zone was picked off by Sidarovich, who calmly fired the puck into the open net to seal the 6–4 victory.
UW-Stout showed resilience in every facet of the game including at the faceoff dot, climbing back to a 52–48 percent advantage after trailing 65–35 following the first period. Combined with tough shot blocking and forced turnovers, the effort capped a complete road performance against a perennial national powerhouse.
By the Numbers
Up Next
UW-Stout returns to WIAC play with another critical road test, traveling to UW-River Falls for an important conference matchup tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils will look to complete a season sweep of the Falcons as the race in the WIAC continues to tighten.
