Superior, Wisconsin - Coming into the game, the UW-Stout Blue Devils had already locked up at least the No. 2 seed in the WIAC tournament. They were chasing the regular-season championship and the top overall seed, trailing UW-Eau Claire by just two points. The Blue Devils remained on pace with a decisive 3-0 win at Wessman Arena in Saturday night, securing the season sweep of UW-Superior.
Stout controlled the game from start to finish and earned a commanding 3-0 road shutout over the Yellowjackets. In the first period, Stout broke through at 11:05. McCabe Dvorak fired a turnaround shot from the high slot that Evan Vanden Heuvel tipped past Superior goaltender Jack Boschert. It was Vanden Heuvel's first goal of the season and gave Stout a 1-0 lead.
The second period turned physical, peaking around the 9:30 mark. Both teams exchanged big hits, and Stout was given a minor penalty for charging. Superior generated some power-play pressure, but the best chance came the other way: Hayden Stocks stripped a defender, broke in alone, deked to his forehand, but was denied by a sprawling save from Boschert.
Deja vu struck late in the period. With 1:50 remaining, Stocks poked the puck free from another defender, raced in on a breakaway, faked forehand, and finished backhand to make it 2-0. Stout carried that lead into the third.
Superior came out hard in the final frame and outshot Stout significantly, but Sebastian Monaco stood tall in net. The Yellowjackets aggressively pulled their goalie with over four minutes left. At 16:01, a Superior defender attempted a cross-ice pass near his own blue line. Stocks anticipated it perfectly, intercepted the puck, and fired it into the empty net for his second goal of the night and securing a 3-0 victory. Monaco earned the shutout coming up with timely saves in a strong team defensive effort.
By the Numbers
- Final Score: UW-Stout 3, UW-Superior 0
- Shots: Stout 24, Superior 34 (Stout 11-9-4 by period; Superior 9-12-13)
- Saves: Sebastian Monaco (Stout) — 34 saves on 34 shots (shutout); Jack Boschert (Superior) — 21 saves on 23 shots (plus 1 empty-net goal against)
- Power Plays: Stout 0/2, Superior 0/2
- Faceoffs: Stout 24 wins, Superior 23 wins (out of 47 total)
- Scoring:
- Penalties: Both teams 4 penalties for 8 minutes
Up Next
The Blue Devils return home for the regular-season finale: a two-game series against UW-Eau Claire. With the Blugolds holding a slim two-point lead in the standings, the WIAC regular-season championship and top seed will be on the line. These games will decide home-ice advantage and seeding heading into the WIAC tournament.
