STEVENS POINT, Wis. - The No. 1 UW-Stevens Point Men's Hockey team host No. 3 UW-Eau Claire (15-2-2, 1-0-1) on Friday (Jan. 18) before traveling to UW-River Falls (8-6-3, 0-1-1) on Saturday (Jan. 19).  

THE BASICS
Who: No. 1 UW-Stevens Point (17-0-2, 2-0-0 WIAC) vs No. 3 UW-Eau Claire (15-2-2, 1-0-1 WIAC)
When: Friday, Jan. 18 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: K.B. Willett Arena | Stevens Point, Wis.

Who: No. 1 UW-Stevens Point (17-0-2, 2-0-0 WIAC) at UW-River Falls (8-6-3, 0-1-1 WIAC)
When: Saturday, Jan. 19 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: Hunt Arena | River Falls, Wis.
 
Tickets
$10 for Reserved Seating
$8 General Admission
$6 Senior (65)
$4 Youth (Ages 6-17)
FREE UWSP or WIAC students and children under 3 years of age

ROCK 'N' ROLL NIGHT
Friday night's contest will feature Rock 'N' Roll Night sponsored by Rock 'N' Roll Cafe. The team will be wearing special jerseys in warmups and then auction the jerseys off. Bidding on the jerseys will start on Wednesday (Jan. 16). All bidding will be done through the "Dash" App. Please visit the UW-Stevens Point Men's Hockey Facebook page for more information and instructions on how to bid on the jerseys,

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 Tune-in by searching "WDTX."
 
Friday: Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio
Saturday: Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio

Tom and Shaun will be hosting their fourth radio show of the season on Wednesday (Feb. 6) 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 did a weekend sweep of MIAC-rivals, No. 4 Augsburg and Saint John's (Minn.). On Friday, the Pointers defeated No. 4 Augsburg, 3-1. Jordan Fader (Rice Lake, Wis.), Tanner Karty (Oklahoma City, Okla.), and B.J. Duffin (Red Deer, Alta.) all had goals for UWSP. Karty and Duffin's goals were eight seconds apart, placing them in the Top 5 all-time in NCAA history for fastest consecutive goals.
 
On Saturday, the Pointers beat Saint John's (Minn.), 4-1. Stephan Beauvais (Shelby Township, Mich.) scored twice with Colin Raver (Bartlett, Ill.) and Ryan Bittner (Crookston, Minn.) also adding goals.
 
ABOUT UW-STEVENS POINT | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Pointers are balanced offensively, with 13 players boasting 10 points or more so far this season. Carter Roo (Champlin, Minn.) (8-8-16) leads the attack and Tanner Karty (Oklahoma City, Okla.) (5-11-16) is second on the team with Zach Zech (South Lyon, Mich.) (5-9-14), Luke McElhenie (Sauk City, Wis.) (5-9-14), and Colin Raver (Bartlett, Ill.) (8-6-14) rounding out the top five point producers. UWSP holds eighth-best scoring offense in the country averaging 3.95 goals per game.
 
DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION
Last Saturday's game against Saint John's (Minn.) featured the defensemen scoring three of the team's four goals. Beauvais tallied a short-handed goal and an empty netter and Ryan Bitter had the third. Of UWSP's 13 players in double figures for points, four are on the blue line. Drew McLean (Waterford, Mich.) leads the defense in points (5-7-12), followed by Steven Quagliata (Bartlett, Ill.) (3-7-10), Ryan Bittner (Crookston, Minn.) (2-8-10), and Danny Kiraly (Glendale, Ariz.) (1-9-10).
 
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Sophomore Connor Ryckman (Minesing, Ont.) picked up two wins over the weekend, improving to 16-0-1 on the season. Ryckman made 15 saves in the 3-1 win over Augsburg and another 15 saves in the 4-1 victory against Saint John's (Minn.). Ryckman ranks fourth in the nation for goals-against average (1.40), and 15th for save percentage (.932).
 
WIAC HONORS
Brandon McReynolds (North Vancouver, B.C.) – Week of Dec. 10 – Dec. 16
Brennen Miller (Keller, Texas) – Week of Dec. 3 – Dec. 9
Connor Ryckman (Minesing, Ont.) – Week of Nov. 26 – Dec. 2
B.J. Duffin (Red Deer, Alta.) – Week of Nov. 19-25

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 eighth week in a row. UW-Stevens Point has been ranked by USCHO.com for 104 consecutive weeks and D3hockey.com for 100 straight weeks.

ABOUT No. 3 UW-EAU CLAIRE | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
No. 3 UW-Eau Claire enters the weekend with a 15-2-2 record. The Blugolds began the second half of the season by winning four in a row. Last weekend, UW-Eau Claire beat Saint John's (Minn.), 4-2, and St. Olaf, 3-2. In net for the Blugolds is Zach Dyment. He has started 18 of 19 games and ranks fifth in the nation for goals against average (1.46) and 23^rd for save percentage (.923). The Blugolds are led offensively by Lucas Kohls (9-11-20), who ranks 29^th in the nation in points and have eight players in double figures for points.
 
UW-Eau Claire hosts UW-River Falls on Wednesday (Jan. 16) before playing the Pointers. Following their game with UWSP, the Blugolds head to UW-Stout on Wednesday (Jan. 23).

ABOUT UW-RIVER FALLS  | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
UW-River Falls heads into the Stevens Point matchup holding an 8-6-3 overall record and are tied for third in the WIAC with an 0-1-1 conference record. The Falcons went 2-0-0 last weekend and are on a three-game win streak. UWRF defeated both St. Olaf, 2-1 and Bethel, 2-1. Zach Quinn has seen majority of time in goal for the Falcons, starting 13 of 17 games. He ranks 38^th for goals against average (2.40) and 41^st for save percentage (.916). The Falcons are led by Eddie Matsushima (13-10-23), Christian Hausinger (2-11-13), and Cayden Cahill (6-5-11).

UW-River Falls travels to play UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday (Jan. 16) before facing the Pointers.

ALL-TIME SERIES
UWSP holds a 78-36-8 record against UW-Eau Claire. Last season, the Pointers went 1-1-1 against the Blugolds. UWSP won the opening contest, 5-2, at Eau Claire before tying 4-4 at home. The Pointers then faced the Blugolds in the WIAC Tournament Championship, losing 3-2.

The Pointers trail the all-time series against UWRF at 59-60-8. Earlier this season, UWSP took down UW-River Falls, 3-1, at K.B. Willett Arena. Steven Quagliata (Bartlett, Ill.), Logan Fredericks (Millstone Township, N.J.), and Luke McElhenie (Sauk City, Wis.) all tallied goals for the Pointers. Last season, Pointers swept all four games against the Falcons, outscoring them 17-6.

TEAM LEADERS
 

	UW-Stevens Point	UW-Eau Claire	UW-River Falls
Goals	C. Roo; Raver (8)	Kohls (9)	Matsushima (13)
Assists	Zech; Karty (10)	Bresser (12)	Hausinger (11)
Points	C. Roo (17)	Kohls (20)	Matsushima (23)
Power-Play Goals	C. Roo (4)	Kohls (4)	Matsushima; Miller (3)
PIM	McLean (40)	Murphy (33)	Matsushima (41)
Goals Against Average	Ryckman (1.40)	Dyment (1.46)	Marcouiller (0.86)
Save Percentage	Ryckman (.932)	Johnson (.930)	Marcouiller (.962)
Home Record	9-0-1	8-0-1	4-2-2
Away Record	8-0-1	7-2-1	4-4-1
Neutral Record	0-0-0	0-0-0	0-0-0
Record Scoring First	15-0-1	10-0-1	7-3-1
Opponent Scores First	2-0-1	5-2-1	1-3-2
Overtime Games	0-0-2	0-0-2	0-1-3

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.

Matt Loen is in his 12th season at UW-Eau Claire in 2018-19. Last season, Loen led the Blugolds to the WIAC tournament championship and was named WIAC Co-Coach of the Year. He has earned this award six times in the last nine years. He's received the honor in 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2016-17. In 2012-2013, Loen and the Blugolds captured the NCAA Division III National Championship in Lake Placid, New York. That year, Loen was named the USCHO and D3Hockey.com National Coach of the Year. The Blugolds also won the NCHA and WIAC Conference Championships. Loen ranks 12th on the all-time WIAC Coaches Wins List. He has also been named NCHA Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2013. Loen is the school's all-time leader in wins with a .600 win percentage. He has an overall record of 171-110-25.

Steve Freeman is in his 23rd season at UW-River Falls. He is the program's all-time leader in games won with a career record of 376-209-52 (.615). In 2016, he led UWRF to the WIAC regular season championship. In 2015, Freeman led the Falcons to the WIAC playoff Championship including a thirteen-game winning streak and 20-7-1 overall record. Freeman has been named WIAC Coach of the Year 12 times in his career at UW-River Falls. Freeman is the WIAC's all-time leader in games won and has led the team to WIAC championships in 12 of the past 16 seasons. Before being named head coach, Freeman was the top assistant at UWRF for seven seasons.

UP NEXT
UWSP hits the road to take on UW-Stout on Friday (Feb. 1) before returning home to face UW-Superior on Saturday (Feb. 2).