In the weekend’s titanic tilt, St. Norbert and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point showed why they were befitting of their respective No. 3 and No. 10 rankings.
The Green Knights swept the two-game set, 3-2 Friday and 2-0 Saturday, to raise their Northern Collegiate Hockey Association account to 4-0 (5-1 overall). The Pointers, whose four-game winning streak was snapped in the process, dropped to 2-2 in league play and 4-3 overall.
No. 3 St. Norbert, no doubt relying on the steely resolve that has been accrued through winning a national title and two NCHA crowns the past two seasons, refused to get rattled playing against a newly anointed Top-10 team team before a “white out” crowd of 1,540 in the opposition’s rink.
UW-Stevens Point frequently demonstrated why its No. 10 ranking was no fluke, carrying the play in even-strength situations while players selflessly threw themselves in front of St. Norbert attempts on net.
In Friday’s loss, the Pointers registered 15 blocked shots, with defenseman Jon Bockmann recording a team-leading six.
“We were close, but we just couldn’t put that puck into the net when we needed to,” UW-Stevens Point Coach Wil Nichol said. “That was the story of the weekend. I was really proud of the guys and the effort, though.”
In Friday’s game, the difference came down to 11 seconds in the second period when St. Norbert struck twice with goals by Nick Tabisz and Johan Ryd.
Tabisz’ marker, which came on a surgically executed power play with Kyle Stroh and Alain Joanette assisting, put the visitors up 2-1 at 13:13.
Then Ryd capitalized on a miscue behind the Pointers’ net to make it a two-goal advantage. Scott Pulak and Dustin Walz assisted on the game-winning tally, which came at 13:24.
UW-Stevens Point’s Nick Polaski pulled one back 4:17 into the third period. Kyle Politz scored the team’s opening goal on a power play at 5:53 in the second.
The Pointers, who carried the play when the teams were at even strength, held a 21-20 shot advantage.
Green Knights’ netminder B.J. O’Brien made 19 saves to earn his third win this season. Despite another solid performance, Pointers sophomore goalie Nick Graves dropped his first game of the season while turning away 17 shots.
Graves and O’Brien’s play also proved pivotal in Saturday’s rematch, which remained scoreless until Ryd’s goal 13:26 into the third period. Mike Bernardy and Pulak assisted on the game-winner. Brandon Longley’s empty-netter with 20 seconds left sealed the victory.
O’Brien made several crucial saves, especially seven minutes into the third when St. Norbert killed off a UW-Steven Point power play. The pair of setbacks dropped UW-Stevens Point into a third-place tie with Wisconsin-Stout and Wisconsin River Falls in the NCHA.
The Pointers coach said it’s up to team members in how they respond.
“That’s a life skill,” said Nichol, whose team hosts UW-Stout Friday and Saturday. “You get knocked down. You have to get up, you got to dress up and you have to show up.”
UW-River Falls rallies
After a sensational 3-2 comeback Friday, No. 14 Wisconsin-River Falls players may wonder why they didn’t parlay that achievement into a weekend sweep.
Jason Yuel and freshman Alec Hagaman scored with less than a minute remaining to stun UW-Eau Claire in Friday’s contest. Yuel’s goal came on a six-on-three power play with 52 seconds left while Hagaman’s game-winner, also on a power play, occurred with six seconds left.
Falcons goalie Scott Lewan was pulled for an extra attacker on the game-tying and winning goals. The Blugolds were short-handed with Jared Williams and Tim Possehl off for hooking penalties at 17:51 and 19:21 respectively.
UW-River Falls’ Ben Beaudoin scored on a short-handed effort in the second period to tie the game 1-1. Jordan Singer and Tyler Romasco scored for UW-Eau Claire.
The game-winning goal provider Hagaman finished the weekend with two goals and an assist, which included a short-handed marker in Saturday’s game.
“He’s a big strong guy and can shoot the puck a ton,” Falcons Coach Steve Freeman said about the freshman forward, who had four goals and two assists through six games. “He has a great wrist shot. It doesn’t take him very long to get them off.
“He’s kind of a natural goal scorer. He just loves to shoot the puck.”
Friday’s heroics didn’t transfer over into Saturday’s contest, which the Blugolds easily won 6-3. Ross Janecyk scored a hat trick while Kurt Weston netted two goals in UW-Eau Claire’s first NCHA win of the season.
As with WP-Eau Claire on the previous night, 13 penalties for 37 minutes proved to be the Falcons’ undoing. The Blugolds’ staked a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Weston and Janecyk.
“We got a little frustrated and it sort of snowballed on us,” Freeman said.
UW-River Falls (3-3-1 overall, 2-2 NCHA) travels to St. Norbert (5-1, 4-0) this weekend while UW-Eau Claire (3-2, 1-1) hosts UW-Superior (3-2, 1-1) Friday and Saturday.
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