STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The No. 8 UW-Stevens Point men's hockey team (12-3-0) had its highest scoring period of the season, a five-goal third period, in a 5-1 win over Concordia (Minn.) (7-6-1) in the first home game of 2024.
 
Neither team scored in the first period as UWSP held a 10-7 shot advantage after one. In the second period, the Cobbers got on the board first off a rebound at 8:16 and the Pointers trailed, 1-0, heading to the third.
 
Noah Finstrom (New Baltimore, Mich.) pulled UWSP even at 1-1 just 57 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal. David Hill (Glen Mills, Pa.) picked up the assist on the goal.
 
At the 3:08 mark of the third, Dawson Sciarrino (Greensburg, Pa.) put the Pointers in front, the eventual game-winner. Conor Witherspoon (Metamora, Mich.) notched an assist on the play.
 
Sean Bunting (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored at 8:54 off assists from Sciarrino and Fletcher Anderson (Thunder Bay, Ont./Sir William Churchill) to make it 3-1.
 
Finstrom netted his second of the period at 13:32 to push the lead to 4-1. Evan Junker (Elk River, Minn.) and Bunting added helpers on the play.
 
At the 17:12 mark of the third, Nico Chmelevski (Northville, Mich.) scored his first career goal. He took a feed from Sam Ayd (Grant, Minn.) in the neutral zone and roofed a backhander from just inside the right faceoff dot.
 
UWSP goaltender Alex Proctor (Allen, Texas) had 19 saves in the win. CCM goaltender Matt Fitzgerald had 34 saves.
 
The Pointers face Saint John's in the home non-conference finale on Saturday (Jan. 13). Puck drop at K.B. Willett Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.