Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Adrian squared off in a showdown of nationally ranked teams, and both games of this crucial nonconference series lived up to the hype.
The Pointers and Bulldogs skated to a 4-4 tie in the opener Friday before William Nong-Lambert came through with a game-winning goal midway through the third period of Saturday’s series finale. It was his fourth goal of the season and provided Wis.-Stevens Point with its first win over Adrian this season.
Kyle Sharkey and Stephan Beauvais both scored in the opening period to give Stevens Point a 2-1 lead in Saturday’s game. Vince Paquette had given Adrian an early 1-0 advantage and Kyle Brothers tied the score at 2-2 in the first. Brothers scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at 3-3. Ethan Strong gave the Pointers a 3-2 lead prior to Brothers’ goal.
Max Milosek of Stevens Point and Kevin Entmaa of Adrian stayed busy in goal. Milosek racked up 28 saves and Entmaa came through with 29 saves as he suffered just the second regular-season loss of his career. Milosek won his fifth game of the year.
On Friday, Adrian scored twice in the third to tie game at 4-4 and force a tie in the series opener. Bud Madej’s goal helped the Bulldogs send the game to OT. Lawrence Cornellier and Nong-Lambert pushed the Pointers in front 2-0 before Bryan Yim came through with a goal to cut the lead to 2-1 at the end of the first. Vinny Post tied the score at 2-2 in the second, but Cornellier broke the tie with his second goal of the night, pushing the Pointers in front 3-2. Eliot Grauer’s goal gave Wis.-Stevens Point a 4-2 advantage heading into the final period of play.
Wis.-Stevens Point, ranked fourth in the country, heads into Christmas break with a 9-2-2 record. Adrian, the second-ranked team in the nation, is 8-2-2.
Below is a look at some of the other highlights from the weekend
MIAC
St. Thomas saw its seven-game unbeaten streak come to an Saturday night in a 4-2 loss to St. Norbert. The Tommies went into the third period tied at 2-2 with the Green Knights, but St. Norbert scored twice in the final period to secure the win.
Kurt Black struck first a little over three minutes into the period and Pijus Rulevicius delivered an insurance goal. It was his second goal of the game.
Johnny Roisum and Charlie Donlin both scored for the Tommies, who fell to 6-3-3 overall. They are 2-1-2 on the road this season. St. Thomas was 5-0-2 entering the game with the Green Knights. St. Norbert improves to 10-2 with the win.
Concordia scored the first six goals of its game against Wisconsin-Stout and closed out the first half of its season with a bang, knocking off the Blue Devils 6-1 Friday night. Dalton Mills and Jon Grebosky both scored twice in the win to pace the Cobbers, who won their third consecutive game and improved to 7-4. Mills finished with four points as he also dished out two assists. It was the first four-point game of his career. Colton Brausen scored the lone goal for the Blue Devils.
Jacob Stephen was sensational in goal for the Cobbers, racking up 20 saves to help Concordia beat Wis.-Stout for the first time since November 2011. The Blue Devils still lead the all-time series against the Cobbers 9-4-1.
Saint Mary’s snapped a three-game losing streak with a dominant 7-2 win over Aurora Saturday. Seven different players scored for the Cardinals. Nick Albergo paved the way offensively, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists. Taylor Portner came through with a goal and assist for the Cardinals, who improved to 3-1 in road games this season.
Brendan Logan and Rudolfs both scored for the Spartans.
St. John’s won in thrilling fashion Saturday night in a nonconference game against St. Scholastica. Brady Heppner delivered the game-winning goal with 24 seconds left in OT as the Johnnies improved to 7-4-2 on the year. Heppner punched his shot into the top left corner of the goal to lift St. John’s to the win. He scored off an assist from Dan McNamara, who ended his night with a goal and two assists. Heppner scored the other two goals for St. John’s, which is unbeaten in its last four games.
Tyler Nelson made 29 saves for the Johnnies, who have seven wins before Christmas break for the first time since the 2005-06 season. The win for Doug Schueller was the 99th of his career. He is 99-97-24 in his career at Saint John’s.
Steven Phee and Kristofer McKinzie both scored for the Saints, who sit at 5-6 on the year and lost a one-goal game for the fifth time this season.
WIAC
Wisconsin-Eau Claire played a pair of overtime games this past weekend, edging Hamline 5-4 on Friday before skating to a 2-2 tie with Gustavus Adolphus Saturday. The tie is the first in eight games for the Blugolds. Wis.-Eau Claire had won seven consecutive games prior to the matchup with Gustavus.
TJ Stuntz scored the game-winner in OT to lift Wis.-Eau Claire to the win.
Hamline trailed 4-2 going into the third, but got back into the game thanks to goals by Chad Hennum and Russ Jordan, both scored in a span of just under five minutes to force OT.
Jay Deo made his 12th straight start in the game against the Pipers and racked up 20 saves to pick up his ninth win of the season. Adam Knochenmus was coming back from an injury and tallied a goal and two assists for the Blugolds. Jordan scored twice to pace the Pipers.
Wis.-Eau Claire heads into the break with a 9-1-3 record. Hamline is 6-4-2.
Wisconsin-Stout bounced back Saturday with a 3-0 win over St. Olaf, with Etienne Roy earning the win in goal in his first start of the season. It was also the first shutout of the season for the Blue Devils. Roy is a transfer from Franklin Pierce and racked up 18 saves to earn his first win in a Wis.-Stout uniform. He played two seasons with Franklin Pierce.
Brausen and Riley Colvard both tallied a goal and an assist in the victory for Wis.-Stout, which improved to 6-6 on the year as it won for the second time in three games.
Wisconsin-River Falls heads into the break with momentum after sweeping Finlandia behind a couple of stellar defensive performances. The Falcons topped the Lions 2-0 Friday and closed out the series Saturday with a 1-0 victory. Wis.-River Falls wraps up the first half with a 5-8-1 record.
Christian George scored the lone goal Saturday, scoring off the power play to lift the Falcons to their third consecutive win. The Falcons held a 42-15 advantage in shots. Alex Rounds played well in goal for the Lions, making 41 saves, including six on power-play opportunities for Wis.-River Falls.
On Friday, Zach Quinn recorded his first career shutout for the Falcons, stopping 20 shots. Quinn also earned a shutout win Saturday. Michael Lant scored his fifth goal of the season in Friday’s game. Ryan Gotelaere also scored for Wis.-River Falls.
