MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Despite playing in what is traditionally a very tough place to play for the Blue Devils, the UW-Stout men's hockey team showed resilience, skill, and timely special teams execution to earn a dramatic 7–6 overtime victory at Augsburg on Friday night. Entering the contest just 3-10-1 all-time on the road against the Auggies, the Blue Devils extended their winning streak to seven games with one of their most gutsy performances of the season.
Augsburg struck first, jumping out to a 1–0 lead on a quick blast from the point, but UW-Stout answered in a big way while shorthanded. After the Blue Devils cleared the zone, an Augsburg defender failed to handle the puck cleanly, allowing Nicolas Pigeon to kick it up to Arhip Sidarovich, who was left alone in the slot. Sidarovich buried the chance to tie the game at 1–1, marking UW-Stout's seventh shorthanded goal of the season—among the national leaders—while the Blue Devils have surrendered just five power-play goals all year.
The Auggies regained the lead late in the opening period, but UW-Stout continued to respond. Early in the second, Hayden Stocks evened the score with a power-play goal off feeds from Gunner Moore and Maksis Brimanis. The play started with Stocks carrying the puck through the neutral zone, chipping it off the glass to himself before weaving through defenders and snapping a top-shelf shot to make it 2–2.
Augsburg pushed ahead again and eventually built a 4–2 lead, prompting Dawson Green to enter in goal for UW-Stout. The momentum shifted quickly. The Blue Devils connected on a beautiful sequence of behind-the-back passes—Pigeon to Sidarovich, Sidarovich to Tristan Therrien, and Therrien back to Pigeon—who finished at the back door to pull Stout within one. Later in the period, after Kullan Daikawa walked into the slot and was poked, the puck bounced loose in a dangerous area where Stocks hammered it home to knot the game at 4–4 heading into the intermission.
UW-Stout grabbed its first lead of the night early in the third when Nicholas Stevens made a sharp pass at the blue line into the middle of the ice for Stocks, who found Daikawa alone in front. Daikawa froze the goalie with a slick backhand fake before finishing on his forehand to make it 5–4. Augsburg answered almost immediately, but the Blue Devils struck again on the power play. Noah Tyrrell picked up a loose puck along the boards, carried it on his backhand, made a smooth move around a defender and beat the outstretched goalie to give UW-Stout a 6–5 advantage.
The Auggies forced overtime with an extra-attacker goal late in regulation, but special teams—critical all night—again delivered. With three seconds left in the third, Augsburg was whistled for delay of game after covering the puck by hand, sending UW-Stout to overtime on the power play. Daikawa quarterbacked the man advantage, walking the puck in from the point before finding Brimanis at the faceoff dot. Brimanis ripped a blistering one-timer past the goalie 1:44 into overtime to seal a thrilling 7–6 Blue Devils victory.
Sidarovich was relentless all night, peppering the Augsburg net with nine shots on goal, a remarkable total that set the tone for UW-Stout's offensive pressure in a hostile building.
By the Numbers
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Score: UW-Stout 7, Augsburg 6 (OT)
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Shots: UW-Stout 41, Augsburg 30
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Power Play: UW-Stout 3-for-5 | Augsburg 0-for-5
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Shorthanded Goals: UW-Stout 1
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Sidarovich: 1 goal, 1 assist, 9 shots on goal
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Stocks: 2 goals, 2 assists
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Daikawa: 1 goal, 2 assists
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Brimanis: OT game-winning goal
Up Next
UW-Stout remains on the road as the Blue Devils travel to Moorhead, Minn., to take on Concordia-Minnesota on Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
