ST. PAUL, Minn. — Senior forward Lawrence Cornellier (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) recorded his third career hat trick to lead the third-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's hockey a 6-3 victory over Hamline Saturday evening at Oscar Johnson Arena.
Just 15 seconds into the third period, Cornellier completed the hat trick, scoring off assists by Jacob Barber (Dardenne Prairie, MO) and Stephan Beauvais (Shelby Township, MI) to put UW-Stevens Point (11-2-2) up 5-2 over Hamline (6-6-2).
Ryan Bittner (Crookston, MN) opened the scoring for UWSP tallying his third goal of the season off assists by Kyle Sharkey (Moore, OK/Insight School of Kansas) and Jono Davis (La Verne, CA) 3:30 into the opening period.
Just three minutes later, Cornellier scored his first goal of the evening on the power play to double the UWSP lead.
At the 19:27 mark of the opening period, Jaycob McCombs scored for Hamline to cut into the UWSP lead heading into the second period.
In the second period, defenseman Mark Bittner (Crookston, MN/Crookston) scored his first goal of the season on the power play to put the Pointers up 3-1 six minutes into the middle frame.
Midway through the second, Cornellier tallied his second goal of the game off an assist by Ethan Strong (Kinmount, ON) to put the Pointers up by three.
Hamline's Jesse Kessler scored to cut into the UWSP lead heading into the third period, before Cornellier capped his hat trick in the opening minute.
At the 6:20 mark of the final period, Tyler Gonzalez scored for the Pipers to pull within two goals off assists by Garrett Schmitz and McCombs.
Just four minutes later, freshman forward Brennen Miller (Keller, TX) put home a loose puck, scoring his first collegiate goal to put UWSP up 6-3, securing the victory.
Hamline outshot the UWSP 34-29. Junior goaltender Max Milosek (Lapeer, MI) recorded a season-high 31 saves in the victory, while Justin Quale made 23 saves for Hamline.
UWSP took advantage of the extra skater, going 2-3 on the power play.
The Pointers will return home for three games this coming week. On Wednesday Jan. 11, the Pointers will host Northland followed by Saint Mary's and Augsburg on Friday and Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. for all three games.
Wednesday night's matchup will feature the Fill the Van campaign to help benefit the Humane Society of Portage County (HSPC). Fans are encouraged to bring items that are of need to HSPC including paper towels, Mr. Clean, liquid laundry detergent, as well as, canned dog and cat food. Fans who donate to the HSPC will receive a raffle ticket for their chance to win a Pointer Prize Package.
On Friday, all youth hockey players who wear their jerseys to the game will receive free admittance and will also have the chance to win a free enrollment in a hockey camp, sponsored by Chris Brooks Elite Hockey Camps
Saturday night's contest will also be the team's annual TV giveaway sponsored by Scaffidi Motors, as well as, the annual black out game.
