SUPERIOR, Wis. – UW-Stout used a dominant second period to pull away Friday night, knocking off UW-Superior 4–2 at Wessman Arena in a result that carried significant postseason implications in the WIAC race.
Entering the night with a 10-point cushion on the Yellowjackets in the conference standings, the Blue Devils (16-5-1, 9-2-1 WIAC) knew three points would go a long way. They delivered, clinching at least the No. 2 seed in the WIAC Tournament, which secures a first-round bye and home ice in the second round. Stout also remains firmly in the hunt for the regular-season title—staying within two points of league-leading UW-Eau Claire would set up a winner-take-all championship series next weekend.
After UW-Superior grabbed a short-handed goal late in the first period, Stout flipped the game on its head with a three-goal outburst in the middle frame.
The equalizer came at 6:36 of the second, when Nicholas Stevens buried a rebound in tight to erase the deficit. Just over two minutes later, Stout struck again on a highlight-reel sequence—Gunner Moore stood up a Superior rush at the blue line and immediately moved the puck to Arhip Sidarovich, who walked through the defense, deked the oncoming goalie, and slid the puck into an open net.
At 11:57, a crisp feed from the side boards found Brendan Boyce streaking down the slot, and he finished cleanly to give Stout a 3–1 cushion and the eventual game-winner.
Superior trimmed the lead late in the second, but Stout locked things down defensively in the third. With the Yellowjackets pressing and the net empty, Nicolas Pigeon sealed it with an unassisted empty-net goal in the final minute.
Between the pipes, Sebastian Monaco was steady throughout, turning aside 24 shots to earn the win as Stout controlled the tempo over the final 40 minutes.
By the Numbers
Up Next
UW-Stout will look to complete the road series sweep on Saturday at 7 p.m., returning to Wessman Arena for the finale against UW-Superior.
