STEVENS POINT, Wis. - The No. 1 UW-Stevens Point men's hockey team will travel to Concordia (Wis.) on Friday (Dec. 7) and Lake Forest (Ill.) on Saturday (Dec. 8) before returning home to face Lawrence on Tuesday (Dec. 11).
 
THE BASICS
Who: No. 1 UW-Stevens Point (10-0-2, 2-0-0 WIAC) at Concordia-Wisconsin (2-7-1, 0-5-1 NCHA)
When: Friday, Dec. 7 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: Ozaukee Ice Center | Mequon, Wis.

Who: No. 1 UW-Stevens Point (10-0-2, 2-0-0 WIAC) at Lake Forest (Ill.) (4-3-3, 3-2-1 NCHA)
When: Saturday, Dec. 8 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse | Lake Forest, Ill.
 
Who:  Lawrence University (2-8-0, 1-5-0 NCHA) vs. No. 1 UW-Stevens Point (10-0-2, 2-0-0 WIAC)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 11 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: K.B. Willett Arena | Stevens Point, Wis.
Promotion: Teddy Bear Toss/Skate With The Pointers

TEDDY BEAR TOSS
Next Tuesday night's home contest against Lawrence will feature the team's annual Teddy Bear Toss. Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears and stuffed animals to throw onto the ice following the Pointers' first goal. All stuffed animals thrown onto the ice will be donated to Police Department/Sheriff's office to be given to kids in need when they come to crime scenes. Fans can also purchase teddy bears at the apparel stand for $1 prior to the start of the game.

GAME COVERAGE
Live stats and live video will be available for each contest over the weekend. Tom Weaver and Shaun McMahon will provide coverage of Pointers men's hockey all season long on SportsFan100.5, on sportsfan1005.com and on the Tune-In Radio App by searching WDTX.
 
Friday: Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio
Saturday: Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio
Tuesday: Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio

Tom and Shaun will be hosting their second radio show of the season on Wednesday (Dec. 5) at Guu's on Main from 6-7 p.m. The radio show can be heard on 100.5 FM and on sportsfan1005.com. Fans can also listen on the Tune-In Radio app by searching WDTX.

LAST TIME OUT
UWSP went 2-0-0 to open conference defeating UW-River Falls, 3-1, and UW-Superior, 4-0. On Friday, the Pointers scored three unanswered goals to beat the Falcons, 3-1. On Saturday, UWSP shut out the Yellowjackets in a 4-0 victory.
 
ABOUT UW-STEVENS POINT | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS

STREAKING
Three UWSP skaters carry multiple game point streaks into the weekend. Junior Luke McElhenie (Sauk City, Wis.) is riding a four-game points streak, tallying two goals and three assists in the span. Fellow junior Austin Kelly (Toledo, Ohio) and sophomore Carter Roo (Champlin, Minn.) both have a three-game points streak, each recording one goal and two assists.
 
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Sophomore goaltender Connor Ryckman (Minesing, Ont.) picked up his first shutout victory of the season this weekend in a 4-0 win over UW-Superior, making 24 saves. On Friday, he made 14 saves in the 3-1 victory over UW-River Falls. He improved to 10-0-1 on the year, ranking seventh in the nation for goals-against average (1.45) and 14th for save percentage to (.935).
 
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
The Pointers rank 11th in the nation in goals per game, averaging 3.92. McElhenie leads the Pointers with 12 points and Roo leads with six goals. UWSP has outscored opponents 47 to 18 on the season, 16 to 6 in the first period, 12 to 6 in the second period, and 19 to 6 in the third period.
 
WIAC HONORS
For the second week in a row, a UWSP player has captured WIAC Athlete of the Week honors. Last week, senior BJ Duffin received the honor with Ryckman following suit this week. This was the first time in each of their careers to earn the award.
 
BJ Duffin – Week of Nov. 19-25
Connor Ryckman (Minesing, Ont.) – Week of Nov. 26 – Dec. 2

IN THE RANKINGS | D3HOCKEY.COM POLL | USCHO.COM POLL
UW-Stevens Point comes in at No. 1 in both the D3Hockey and USCHO polls for the fifth week in a row. UW-Stevens Point has been ranked by USCHO.com for 101 consecutive weeks and D3hockey.com for 97 straight weeks.

ABOUT CONCORDIA (Wis.) | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
Concordia (Wis.) enters the weekend with a 2-7-1 record. The Falcons began the season losing three straight, picking up their first win at Saint John's on Nov. 23. Last weekend, Concordia (Wis.) dropped both games, losing 5-0 to Aurora and 5-4 to Lake Forest. The Falcons are led by sophomore Nick Guerra (8-2-10) and junior Dante Hahn (1-9-10).
 
Concordia (Wis.) heads to Lawrence on Tuesday (Dec. 4) to play the Vikings prior to their game with UWSP.

ABOUT LAKE FOREST (Ill.) | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
Lake Forest heads into the Stevens Point matchup holding a 4-3-3 record. The Foresters went 2-0-0 last weekend, taking down MSOE, 6-4, and Concordia (Wis.), 5-4. In the net for the Foresters is senior Louis-Philippe De Courcy, who has started eight of 10 games. His goals against average is 2.47 and save percentage is .920. The Foresters are led by Joe Sardina (4-7-11), Cody Guidorzi (5-4-9), and Aaron O'Neill (5-2-7).

Lake Forest travels to play Aurora on Friday (Dec. 7) before returning home to play the Pointers.

ABOUT LAWRENCE | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
The Vikings began the 2018-19 season on a six-game losing streak. Lawrence split the previous weekend's play, losing to St. Norbert, 8-1, and beating Finlandia, 3-1. Leading the Vikings is senior Josh Koepplinger (1-3-4) and sophomore Danny Toycen (2-2-4).

Prior to playing the Pointers on Tuesday (Dec. 11), they have a three-game homestand, facing Concordia (Wis.) on Tuesday (Dec. 4), UW-River Falls on Friday (Dec. 7) and Saturday (Dec. 8).

ALL-TIME SERIES
On Friday, UWSP will square off with CUW for the third time in program history. In the previous two meetings, the Pointers defeated then first-year program CUW, 9-0, on Nov. 24, 2007 at K.B. Willett Arena and won again last season, 5-3.

The Pointers are 55-31-3 all time against Lake Forest (Ill.). UWSP last played the Foresters in the 2015-16 season, winning both matchups, 3-1 and 9-2. In their previous five meetings, dating back to the 2012-13 season, the Pointers are 5-0, outscoring the Foresters, 26-7.

On Tuesday, the Pointers will face the Vikings for the 10th time in program history, holding a record of 8-1-0. In the 2016-17 season, UWSP beat Lawrence in 3-2, in overtime with Stephan Beauvais (Shelby Township, Mich.) scoring the game-winner. In their previous five meetings, dating back to the 2010-11 season, the Pointers are 4-1, outscoring the Vikings 32-12.

TEAM LEADERS
 

	UW-Stevens Point	Concordia (Wis.)	Lake Forest (Ill.)	Lawrence
Goals	C. Roo (6)	Guerra (8)	Guidorzi; O'Neill (5)	Drinkard; Toycen (2)
Assists	Karty; McElhenie (7)	Hahn (9)	Sardina (7)	Koepplinger (3)
Points	McElhenie (12)	Guerra; Hahn (10)	Sardina (11)	Koepplinger; Toycen (4)
Power-Play Goals	Quagliata; Roo (2)	Guerra (3)	Three Players (2)	Weyerhaeuser (1)
PIM	Kanter (34)	Gauld (17)	Duncan (23)	Gysi (43)
Goals Against Average	Ryckman (1.45)	Delbridge (3.13)	Argiropoulos (2.40)	Cline (3.15)
Save Percentage	Ryckman (.935)	Delbridge (.903)	Argiropoulos (.936)	Cline (.920)
Home Record	6-0-1	0-2-1	2-1-2	1-5-0
Away Record	4-0-1	2-5-0	2-2-1	1-3-0
Record Scoring First	9-0-1	1-2-0	3-0-2	1-7-0
Opponent Scores First	1-0-1	1-5-1	1-3-1	1-1-0
Overtime Games	0-0-2	0-1-1	0-0-3	0-0-0

 
 
THE COACHES
Head coach Tyler Krueger is in his second season as the head coach of the Pointers. Under his leadership, the Pointers finished the 2017-18 season with a 21-6-3 record and returned to the Frozen Four after missing out the year before. He was also a pivotal part of the Pointers' three-year run to the National Championship game in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  From behind the bench, Krueger helped UWSP win its first WIAC Tournament title and fifth National Championship in 2016. Prior to joining the coaching staff, Krueger was a four-year member of the Pointers hockey team.  He skated in 79 games as a Pointer with two goals, 15 assists and a plus/minus of +34 for his career.  He captained the 2014 team that reached the NCAA title game.

Jasen Wise is in his seventh season at Concordia (Wis.). Wise is the winningest coach in program history with a record of 65-84-10, helping the Falcons set a new season wins mark in five of six seasons at the helm. The 2017-18 Falcons posted the best season in program history with a 16-9-2 overall record. The Falcons went 12-6 in the always challenging NCHA, securing a home playoff series for the first time in program history. The 12-6 mark was good for second place in the NCHA South Division, finishing behind only Adrian, a team ranked No. 1 nationally for much of the season. Prior to CUW, Wise spent eight seasons as the assistant coach at Marian.
 
Patrick Kelliher is in his fifth season at the helm of Lake Forest. Kelliher has led the Foresters to a 56-43-7 overall record and a 42-31-3 mark in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association play during his four seasons as head coach. Lake Forest was 15-11-2 overall with a conference record of 10-6-2 in 2017-18. The team qualified for the NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs for the third time in Kelliher's four years as head coach and advanced to the tournament's semifinal round for the first time since 2014.
 
Mike Szkodzinski is in his 13th season at Lawrence, compiling a record of 122-178-27. Szkodzinski, who has more victories than any coach in Lawrence history, coached his team to the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Northern Division title in 2008-09.  Before his time at Lawrence, Szkodzinski spent two seasons at St. Norbert as an assistant coach, where he helped guide the team to an NCAA Runner-Up finish in 2006. Szkodzinski played two seasons at Ferris State before finishing his career at St. Norbert.

UP NEXT
The Pointers return to action in 2019 with a weekend trip to Minnesota on Jan. 4 and 5.  UWSP will play at Concordia (Minn.) and at St. Olaf with 7:00 p.m. starts both days.