UW-Superior’s Stauber collects 200th victory
UW-Superior Coach Dan Stauber notched his 200th coaching victory in a fashion that was emblematic of his 11 years at the helm.
After losing Friday’s contest to visiting St. Scholastica, No. 15 Wisconsin-Superior showed resiliency by bouncing back to win Saturday’s rematch 7-3. Such consistency has been the hallmark of Yellowjacket teams during Stauber’s tenure.
The No. 15 Yellowjackets (8-4-1, 6-2 NCHA) erupted for four goals in the third period to knock off the upset-minded Saints, who had won 3-1 the previous
night.
The milestone was on the players’ minds, the coach said.
“They were aware of it,” said Stauber, who dined out with his family to celebrate. “Like I told them, I’m a pretty humble guy … It sounds like a cliche, but coaches don’t win hockey games, players do.”
In 11 years at UW-Superior, Stauber has compiled a 200-67-42 record, which includes an NCAA National Championship in 2002. His teams have also won two NCHA regular-season titles and three playoff crowns.
Stauber assumed the UW-Superior head coaching role in 2000, succeeding Steve Nelson.
In Stauber’s first season, the Yellowjackets set school records for most wins in a season (30) and longest unbeaten streak (23 games). Stauber, who played four years at UW-Superior, served as an assistant under Nelson for two seasons and coached six years in high school circles, including at his alma mater, Duluth (Minn.) Denfeld. He was also an assistant at UW-Eau Claire for a season.
“At each milestone, you do remember the players who were on those teams,” Stauber said.
The veteran coach won’t likely forget the four-goal outburst in Saturday’s third period.
Talon Berlando scored twice – one a short-handed effort and the other a power-play tally- while Tom Budziakowski and Josh Kesler also netted goals during the span.
The Yellowjackets led 3-1 going into the final frame on goals by Tyler Klein, Colton Kennedy and Pat Dalbec. Goalie Drew Strandberg turned away 22 of 25 shots for his fifth win of the season.
Carter David, Alex Valenti and Tyler Miller scored for St. Scholastica, which was outshot 31-25.
The Yellowjackets also revived their dormant power play, going two-for-four in man-advantage situations. The team’s power play was an anemic 8-of-68 going into Saturday.
The team remains in second place behind No. 2 St. Norbert. To maintain that position, the team’s power play needs to run more efficiently, the coach said.
“Our penalty kill has been pretty good, but our power play has been brutal,” Stauber said. “When we look at the games we have lost lost, if we had just one power-play goal …. those losses could have been wins.”
Stauber credits the hard work of his youthful charges for the team’s Top-15 ranking. The squad had only two seniors, forward Matt Wiest and Berlando, in the lineup Saturday.
“It’s good leadership and our youth working extremely hard: That’s what I attribute to the early success,” Stauber said.
Snow and streaks fall
Two words could sum up the weekend in D-III Western region circles: flakes and breaks.
Heavy snow postponed Saturday’s Wisconsin-River Falls-Wisconsin-Stout contest at Dunn County Ice Arena in Menomonie, Wis. The game has been rescheduled for Jan. 10.
In terms of breaks, as in shattering things, Wisconsin-Stevens Point halted a seven-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over No. 14 Wisconsin-Eau Claire Saturday while No. 8 Milwaukee School of Engineering’s nine-game undefeated run was shattered in a 2-1 loss to St. Thomas on Friday.
In Saturday’s rematch, MSOE (9-1) avoided a sweep when Ben Lauder’s goal 1:53 into overtime lifted the Raiders to a 5-4 win over the visiting Tommies (8-5). MSOE Michael Thompson’s goal tied the game at 7:39 of the third.
Connor Toomey stopped 19 of 24 shots to earn the win.
No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus solidified its ranking with a weekend sweep over host Finlandia, 3-2 and 4-1. Ryan Johnson, Zach May and Brad Wieck scored for the Gusties in Friday’s win. On Saturday, Mitch Carlson, Sam Blaisdell, Gustav Bengtson and Brian White scored for Gustavus (9-3-1, 3-2-1).
No. 2 St. Norbert, No. 7 Adrian and No. 12 Hamline were idle.
