No. 1 UWSP will host No. 4 St. Norbert for Frozen Four berth
Portage County Gazette
By John Kemmeter
With a chance to advance to and possibly host the NCAA Division III Frozen Four, the top-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) men’s hockey team will take on fourth-ranked and defending National Champion St. Norbert (23-4-3) in a NCAA Division III Tournament Quarterfinal at K.B. Willett Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 16.
It will be the second meeting between the teams this season following a 1-1 tie at St. Norbert Nov. 17, while the winner will move on to the National Semifinals Friday, March 22.
“It’s something that we’ve worked toward all year,” said UWSP men’s hockey head coach Tyler Krueger. “It’s been our goal all year long to get to this point to put ourselves in this position, and we did a good job of that through the first 28 games to allow ourselves to host an NCAA Tournament.
“And now it’s up to us to seize it,” he said.
The Pointers (26-0-2) had an opening-round bye last weekend, while fifth-ranked Augsburg (Minn.) (21-4-3) scored three goals in the third period to take a 3-1 lead with 6:03 to play at St. Norbert Saturday, March 9, before St. Norbert scored with 5:04 and 1:11 left in regulation to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime.
There, St. Norbert scored 2:19 into the extra period to pull out a 4-3 overtime win to advance to the National Quarterfinals against UWSP, where it will look to advance to the Frozen Four for the 13th time since 1997 under head coach Tim Coghlin.
“They’re a team that is coached very well and they’re structured, they’re very detailed, they do things a certain way, and they have a lot of key assets that are good for them,” said Krueger. “They always have a good goaltender, they play a good defensive game where they try to limit your opportunities and just be opportunistic on the offensive side for them, and their special teams are always elite.”
St. Norbert won its fifth National Title last year, while the team has been led this season by the return of 2018 First Team All-American senior goalie T.J. Black (1.65 goals against average, 92.7 save percentage), senior Roman Uchyn (15 goals, 33 points), senior Riley Christensen (14 goals, 33 points), sophomore Peter Bates (11 goals, 31 points) and junior Dominick Sacco (12 goals, 30 points).
“They’re a team that isn’t going to give up anything easy, and we’re going to have to fight, claw and scratch for every single inch of ice that we get, and we have to play a certain way in order for us to be successful,” said Krueger. “They’re going to play a very detailed and structured game, so we have to match that, and then let our skill take over.
“If we try to just free flow things and get away with it with our skill and cheat the game, they’re going to eat us up,” he said. “So with our game plan and the way we’ve played all year, I think we feel pretty good about the game against them, playing at home.”
UWSP advanced to the Frozen Four last season for the fourth time in five years, and won its fifth National Title in program history with a 5-1 win over St. Norbert in the 2016 National Championship Game.
The Pointers carry a 28-game unbeaten streak into Saturday, and are fifth in Division III in scoring this season (4.25 goals per game), led by 2018 First Team All-American senior forward Tanner Karty (10 goals, 34 points), sophomore forward Zach Zech (nine goals, 27 points), sophomore forward Carter Roo (11 goals, 24 points), junior forward Luke McElhenie (nine goals, 24 points) and sophomore forward Colin Raver (12 goals, 19 points).
“This is the deepest team that we’ve had since I’ve been here the last seven or eight years as a player and as a coach, and it’s from top to bottom,” said Krueger. “We have a lot of guys who play different roles, and we have extra depth out of the lineup on some nights that other teams don’t have, where from Friday to Saturday night we can make some switches and get fresh legs in, and it creates a lot of good, healthy competition to get in the lineup.
“A key to our success all season has been our depth, we haven’t had one line or two or three guys that have done the scoring, and then if they’re not scoring we’re in a game, we have different guys or different line combos step up every single night and chip in with the scoring,” he said. “We want to play all four lines and get everybody rolling and try to keep our legs fresh.”
Sophomore goalie Connor Ryckman (23-0-1, 1.42 goals against average, 93.4 save percentage) was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Player of the Year this season, while the defensemen group that features seniors Stephan Beauvais and Ryan Bittner; juniors Drew McLean, Danny Kiraly and Chris Allemon; and sophomore Steven Quagliata have helped UWSP rank second in the nation in scoring defense this season (1.46 goals against average).
“On the back end, our guys have taken the next step over the second half of the year, contributing offensively a little bit more, while also holding down the fort defensively,” said Krueger. “And all year long, Connor Ryckman has been great.
“We’re well-rounded, and we feel good about our game and our lineup,” he said. “And we’re still going to have a couple of days of competition in practice to see who’s going to play Saturday against St. Norbert.”
This season, the Frozen Four will held at the home of one of the Final Four teams, with the preference given to a West Region team to host, as UWSP and St. Norbert are the only two West Regions teams remaining.
The winner Saturday night will advance to the National Semifinals to take on either seventh-ranked Oswego State (19-6-2) or eighth-ranked Hobart (20-7-2) Friday, March 22, with the National Championship Game set for Saturday, March 23.
“Now the record’s get thrown out,” said Krueger. “It’s going to be a dogfight, and it’s going to be a good, clean hockey game, and we’re going into it knowing that we’ve got to play our best game to win.
“Things can happen in these kinds of games, there are things that we don’t control, and what we’re focusing on is just what we can control, and that’s our attitude, what we’re thinking, our mindset, our effort, and how we’re prepared,” he said. “I don’t want to grip our stick too tight and be afraid to make mistakes, I want to just play free hockey.
“There’s going to be mistakes made, it’s going to be an emotional, up-and-down game, there’s going to be ebbs and flows, highs and lows, and the team that stays steady and stays patient and stays with their game plan, I think is the team that’s going to win,” he said. “So that’s our mindset going into the game, and the guys are really pumped up and excited and looking forward to the opportunity, so it should be fun.”