STEVENS POINT, Wis.— Coming off a pair of wins at home, the top ranked UW-Stevens Point men's hockey team travels to Minnesota, taking on Gustavus Adolphus and Bethel on Nov. 4 and 5.
THE BASICS
Who: No. 1 UW-Stevens Point (2-0-0) at Gustavus Adolphus (1-1-0)
When: Friday, Nov. 4 - 7:00 p.m.
Where: Lund Arena — St. Peter, Minn.
Who: No. 1 UW-Stevens Point (2-0-0) at Bethel (0-2-0)
When: Saturday, Nov. 5 - 7:00 p.m.
Where: Bethel University Arena — St. Paul, Minn.
FOLLOW THE GAME
Tom Weaver and Shaun McMahon will provide coverage of the games on SportsFan100.5 on espn1005.com and on the Tune-in Radio app by searching "WDTX."
Live Audio | Live Video (Friday) | Live Stats (Friday)
Live Audio | Live Video (Saturday) | Live Stats (Saturday)
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, UWSP opened the 2016-17 season with a pair of non-conference wins over Aurora and Lawrence. On Friday, freshman forward Kelly O'Brien (Detroit, MI) scored a hat-trick in his first career game to lead the Pointers to an 8-1 victory over Aurora.
On Saturday, sophomore defenseman Stephan Beauvais (Shelby Township, MI) scored his second goal of the evening at the 3:42 mark of the overtime period to seal a 3-2 win over Lawrence.
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HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
Through two games this season, 12 UWSP skaters have recorded points. Freshman forward Kelly O'Brien (Detroit, MI) leads the Pointers in goals, after netting a hat-trick in his first career game on Friday night. The Pointers are led by senior Jacob Barber (Dardenne Prairie, MO), who tallied two goals and three assists over the weekend. So far this season, UWSP has had seven skaters record multi-point nights, which includes Lawrence Cornellier (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) and Stephan Beauvais (Shelby Township, MI) who have had multi-goal performances.
Entering the weekend, UWSP is sixth in the country in scoring offense averaging 5.50 goals per game. WIAC opponent UW-Superior sits in the top spot averaging 9.50 goals per game.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE
Through two games this season, the Pointers have only allowed three goals behind veteran backstops Max Milosek (Lapeer, MI) and Jesse Gordichuk (Penticton, BC). In the season opener, Milosek earned his first victory of the season defeating Aurora 8-1 allowing only a single goal. The Pointers defensive unit managed to only allow seven Spartan shots on goal, tying the program record for fewest shots allowed in a single game, originally set when the Pointers defeated St. Norbert 21-1 at K.B. Willett Arena in November 1991.
On Saturday evening, Gordichuk made 12 saves including six in the third period to earn his first victory of the season.
CENTURY MARK
Last Saturday's overtime victory versus Lawrence marked head coach Chris Brooks' 100th career win, all coming at UW-Stevens Point. Coach Brooks took over the program in 2011 and has led the Pointers to three-straight Frozen Four appearances and the 2016 NCAA DIII National Championship. Brooks earned his first career win defeating St. Norbert 5-1 at K.B. Willett Arena on Oct. 28, 2011.
SUCCESS AGAINST MIAC
This weekend, the Pointers will travel to Minnesota to take on its first of eight opponents from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Last season, the Pointers were undefeated with an 8-0 recorded against the MIAC. The Pointers currently hold an all-time record of 100-42-11 (.689) against MIAC opposition. In his time leading UWSP, Chris Brooks is 27-3-0 (.900) against teams from the Minnesota conference.
IN THE RANKINGS | D3HOCKEY.COM | USCHO.COM
UW-Stevens Point held steady in both polls, coming in at the top spot for the second week in a row and the third time in program. The Pointers received 15 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll and 19 in the d3hockey.com poll.
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Gustavus enters the weekend with a 1-1-0 record after participating in the MIAC showcase last weekend. The Gusties earned their first victory of the young season defeating St. Olaf 4-1 on Saturday, following a 5-2 loss to Saint John's on Friday. Gustavus was picked to finish sixth in the MIAC this season in the preseason poll.
Gustavus is led by forwards Colin Hernon (2-1-3) and Jake Bushey (0-3-0).
ABOUT BETHEL | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
Bethel also took part in the MIAC showcase last weekend, finishing with a record of 0-2-0, following identical 5-3 losses to Augsburg and Hamline. Bethel was picked to finish ninth in the MIAC preseason poll.
Bethel's Justin Bonanno leads the Royals in points, tallying two goals and an assist last weekend.
ALL-TIME SERIES
UW-Stevens Point leads the all-time series with Gustavus 7-5-1. UWSP has won the last four meetings, picking up a win in each of the last four seasons. Last season, No. 2 UW-Stevens Point topped Gustavus 5-1 behind a pair of goals by Kyle Sharkey (Moore, OK/Insight School of Kansas) on Nov. 6, 2015. The last Gustavus win came in 2011, when the Gusties defeated the Pointers 2-1 in overtime at K.B. Willett Arena.
The Pointers are 9-7-1 all-time against the Royals. Last season, the Pointers defeated Bethel in overtime, on a last minute goal by Logan Lemirande (Janesville, WI). In 2014, UWSP scored eight goals over the final two periods to top Bethel 9-4 on Put A Check to Cancer Night on Jan. 31, 2014. The last Bethel victory in the series came in 2005, when the Pointers fell 4-3 in St. Paul.
THE COACHES
Head coach Chris Brooks is in his sixth season behind the bench at UW-Stevens Point with a record of 100-40-10 (.700). In 2016, Brooks led the Pointers to the National Championship for the first time since 1993, following NCAA runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015. Brooks was also named the DIII coach of the year by USCHO.com and was selected as a finalist for the Edward Jeremiah award for the third consecutive season. The 2015-16 team went 24-5-2 overall and won the WIAC Commissioner's Cup for the first time in program history. Under Brooks, the Pointers have posted three-straight 20-win seasons for the first time since 1990-1993. The Pointers were again ranked in both national polls throughout the 2015-16 season, including being in the D3hockey.com top five for 12 of 16 weeks. UWSP concluded the season ranked first in the country for time in program history.
Brett Petersen is entering his 16th season as the head coach of the Gustavus Adolphus men's hockey team in 2016. In his 15-year tenure behind the Gustavus bench, Petersen has compiled a 212-171-45 (.547) overall record. Peterson has been named MIAC Coach of the Year twice, once in 2001-02 after helping the Gusties make the jump from ninth place the year before to a second-place finish in the conference, and again in 2009-10 after leading the Gusties to their first MIAC title since 1993.
Bethel head coach Charlie "Mike" Burggraf took over the Bethel men's hockey program in 2010 after four seasons leading the Bethel women. In his time leading the Bethel men, Burggraf has compiled a record of 30-108-12. Burggraf increased Bethel's conference record in each of his first three seasons.
UP NEXT
The Pointers will return home to take on another set of MIAC opponents. On Friday, Nov. 11, UWSP will take on Concordia-Moorhead before playing host to Saint John's the following night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. for both contests.
