MENOMONIE. – The University of Wisconsin–Stout men's hockey team earned its first NCAA Tournament victory in 17 years, defeating Anna Maria College 4–1 in the opening round Saturday night at Fanetti Community Center
With the win, the Blue Devils advance to face Utica University on March 21 at 7 p.m. ET at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, N.Y.
UW-Stout (22-5-1) controlled the pace throughout the night, outshooting the Amcats 34-22 and building an early lead that it never relinquished.
The Blue Devils opened the scoring midway through the first period when
Gunner Moore found the back of the net at the 11:11 mark off a feed from
Arhip Sidarovich to give Stout a 1-0 lead.
Stout doubled the advantage late in the period as
Tristan Therrien finished a play from
Hayden Stocks and
Nicolas Pigeon at 17:10. The goal proved to be the game-winner.
The Blue Devils added to their lead just 1:30 into the second period. Just 1:30 into the frame, Stocks scored off an assist from
Will Sinclair to push the lead to 3-0.
Anna Maria (19-6-2) got on the board later in the second period when Lucas de la Salle scored at 7:18, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Stout's defense and goaltending took care of the rest. Goaltender
Sebastian Monaco turned aside 21 shots on the night to preserve the lead.
The Blue Devils sealed the win in the final minute when
Kullan Daikawa scored an empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining, with Moore picking up the assist to complete the 4-1 victory.
The victory marks UW-Stout's first NCAA Tournament win since 2009 and sends the Blue Devils to the second round for a matchup against Utica University on March 21.
