Level-headed play, strong goaltending, and offensive consistency have all contributed to a season of success for the UW-Stout Blue Devil’s hockey team, including a first-ever outright Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference regular season championship.
Now, the Blue Devils are headed into the WIAC Tournament — and potentially the NCAA Division III tourney — as the No. 10 team in the nation.
“We’ve been a very calm and composed team, both with and without a lead, and that has been very helpful for us. We’ve been able to dig out of some games that we probably would have lost last year,” Head Coach Mike MacDonald explained.
“I would say we have a less emotional team than we’ve had in the past when it comes to the highs and lows of the season,” MacDonald continued. “Becoming a little bit more level-headed has benefited us greatly.”
That’s not to say the Blue Devils (19-5-1 overall, 12-2-1 in WIAC play) and their fans didn’t celebrate on Feb. 14 when the team beat the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds 3-2 to clinch the regular season title. But even as they hoisted the conference trophy, they were looking ahead to tournament play.
“Going into the season, that’s not necessarily your goal, but it’s a nice achievement along the way,” junior defenseman Sam Kroon, one of three team captains, said of winning the regular season title. “We know we still have a lot to do and a lot of hard work to come, but it’s definitely a sign of the work we’ve put in throughout the season.”
By beating the Blugolds in two consecutive games to close the regular season, the Blue Devils clinched their first-ever outright WIAC regular season title. (In 2011, they shared the crown with UW-Superior.) Next comes the WIAC Tournament, which for the Blue Devils begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, against UW-Stevens Point at the Fanetti Ice Center in Menomonie. A win that night will send them to the WIAC title game on March 7, where victory will mean a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years.
Youth, experience combine for Blue Devils
MacDonald said the team has benefited from both experienced veterans and young talent this season. For example, freshman forward Arhip Sidarovich, from Minski, Belarus, earned WIAC Kwik Trip Men’s Ice Hockey Player of the Week honors in November and ranked as the team’s No. 2 scorer. Goalie Sebastian Monaco, a fellow freshman from Caledon, Ontario, was WIAC Player of the Week three times this season, most recently after making 58 saves in a two-game sweep of UW-Superior.
After several seasons of junior hockey in his native Ontario, Monaco knew he had to prove himself to earn a spot in the starting lineup. Likewise, the entire team had something to prove, having finished last season 12-13-2 and being picked fifth in the WIAC in a preseason poll. With help from Monaco’s high save percentage, the team has beat expectations while building confidence.
“Honestly I think when we play with that attitude, that swagger, it’s pretty hard to beat us — offensively and defensively,” Monaco said.
“We beat everyone in our league multiple times, going into the playoffs,” MacDonald added. “There isn’t a team out there who has our number this season, and that’s a very good feeling.”
The consistent success has rested on the steady shoulders of the team’s seniors, including defenseman Gunner Moore and forward Kullan Daikawa, both co-captains, who have had to balance the intensity of both academics and athletics in their final semester.
Moore, a B.S. cybersecurity major from Las Vegas, Nevada, explained that as a senior, most of his coursework comes in the form of group projects that require leadership and teamwork, something he’s accustomed to from years on the ice. His academic field focuses on problem solving and understanding systems — not to mention playing defense — all skills honed in hockey.
Consider the team’s strength in penalty kill situations, which leave them temporarily shorthanded. “It might look like chaos to people, but there is a system to it,” Moore said of playing defense in the penalty kill. “It’s built into my head: ‘This is what’s going to happen.’”
Daikawa, a B.S. health, wellness & fitness major from Lino Lakes, Minnesota, said his academic field has helped him learn how to strengthen and condition his body and to recover faster after competition. “Everything I learn I try to relate it back to hockey,” he said.
Prepped for the postseason
The Blue Devils regular-season title gave them a bye in the conference tournament, allowing them a couple of weeks to recover and prepare for the postseason, which begins Feb. 28 against UW-Stevens Point. As six-time NCAA champs, the Pointers can’t be taken lightly — but neither can the surging Blue Devils.
“We just take it one game at a time,” Daikawa said. “We’ve stayed calm through the storm, through the whole season.”
Looking forward to representing UW-Stout on a larger stage in the postseason, Moore said he’s reminded of his experience winning a state hockey championship as a high school sophomore. “It was electric: You’d walk into school and people were so excited for you,” Moore said. “Now I’m at the end of my hockey career, and I’m doing that again. It’s so fun.”
