For the first time in nearly two decades, the UW-Stout Blue Devils hockey team is headed to the NCAA tournament, riding high after a 5-4 victory in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference Tournament championship game.
UW-Stout (21-5-1) defeated UW-River Falls on March 7 to earn its first trip to the NCAA tourney since 2009. The Blue Devils, now ranked fifth in NCAA Division III, will open the tournament with a first-round game against Anna Maria College (20-5-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 14, on home ice at the Fanetti Community Center in Menomonie. Tickets are available online.
Having a sell-out crowd — including fans filling the bleachers and standing several deep outside the glass — was a boost to the Blue Devils during the championship game, said Head Coach Mike MacDonald. He anticipates similar support Saturday from UW-Stout students and community members.
“When you go into a season, you’re thinking about just getting to the NCAA tournament, and home ice is an afterthought, because it’s such an accomplishment to get into the tournament in the first place,” he said. “But to have such an incredible season where we are going to host our first game at home, that’s icing on the cake.”
Defenseman Gunner Moore, one of the team’s captains, said support from the community, especially at the most recent game, has been unprecedented.
“The most exciting part for me was having the rink so filled and how excited people were. It’s never been like that here before,” said Moore, a senior from La Vegas, Nevada.
“It has been unreal,” he continued. “I was walking into the fieldhouse the other day and I heard some track athletes singing our goal song. Seeing people in the community and talking to them has been awesome.”
Fellow co-captain and defenseman Sam Kroon, a junior from Calgary, Alberta, added that playing in front of an energetic home crowd will give the team a huge advantage.
“The support from the entire school and town has been amazing,” he added. “All the guys have had professors, students and community members come up and congratulate us. It's special to see the school and community support and cheer us on during our games and the playoff run.”
Intense arena atmosphere
Director of Athletics & Recreation Erin Sullivan said it’s been an exciting season for the athletics department and the university.
“Our student athletes believe they can win, and that belief is showing up in how they compete. I’m incredibly proud of them,” she said. “I’m also grateful for the support we’ve received — from student athletes in other sports, from our student body, from the Stout community and from the Menomonie community.”
Sullivan added that “the atmosphere this past weekend was unreal” and she is looking forward to a similar environment on Saturday. “Hosting any round of the NCAA tournament is a big deal, and we intend to use home ice to our advantage,” she said. “This opportunity reflects the momentum across our department, and we’re excited to continue representing UW-Stout on the national stage.”
Depending on the outcome of Saturday’s game and other factors, there’s a chance the Blue Devils could host a second-round NCAA game at home as well. But the team isn’t thinking about that yet: They’re focused on carrying their season-long success into the next game.
“I think that when we’re playing at our best we can beat anyone. I think that was fairly evident by the way we could get up 5-1 against one of the most talented teams in the country,” MacDonald said, citing the lead the Blue Devils built in the championship before a late rally by the Falcons, who almost tied the game in the third period. That late rally by UW-River Falls was a reminder to the Blue Devils not to take their foot off the gas, MacDonald added.
Standout season
Three weeks earlier, on Feb. 14, the Blue Devils earned their first-ever outright regular season WIAC title with a home victory over UW-Eau Claire. They followed up with wins over UW-Stevens Point and UW-River Falls to clinch the WIAC tourney.
The team demonstrated a balanced approach against the Falcons, with the five goals coming from five different players — junior Nicolas Pigeon, sophomore Noah Tyrrell, freshman Arhip Sidarovich, sophomore Nicholas Stevens and senior Kullan Daikawa — while freshman goalie Sebastian Monaco stopped 24 shots.
The team has racked up numerous achievements this season, which has already been one of the most successful in program history. By beating the Falcons, the Blue Devils won their first-ever WIAC Tournament Championship, hoisting the Commissioner’s Cup and earning the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils have also won more than 20 games this season for the first time since 2009, when they reached the Frozen Four.
All this for a team that in a preseason poll was predicted to finish fifth in the six-team conference. Now they hold that same position in nationwide NCAA rankings.
“To be fifth out of 91 teams is quite an accomplishment, considering the schedule that we play,” MacDonald said.
