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Brolsma Nets Five Assists in Upset
of River Falls
by Scott Williams
Stevens Point Journal
Original Article
Box
Score
Mike Brolsma played with a
heavy heart this weekend after his grandfather died Wednesday from pancreatic
cancer.
Demonstrating the toughness of his grandpa, Brolsma played through the grief.
His grandfather would have expected nothing less.
And Brolsma is convinced the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's hockey
team had someone extra looking over the players.
Brolsma honored the memory of his grandfather with five assists, and Adam
Kostichka contributed a hat trick as the Pointers knocked off fifth-ranked
UW-River Falls 7-4 on Saturday at K.B. Willett Arena.
The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association win was special in many ways for
Brolsma, as he became the 20th player in school history to reach 100 career
points.
"It's bitter-sweet because my grandfather passed away. I give him credit for the
whole weekend," said a somber Brolsma, who had a goal and six assists on the
weekend. "Someone else was helping me and our team."
The senior from Appleton assisted on the first five Pointer goals Saturday,
including the game-winner off the stick of Chris Gehrke, who had a goal and two
assists.
Gehrke's power-play goal came after the Falcons (6-2-2, 1-1 NCHA) had rallied
from a 4-2 deficit after two periods.
Aaron Degerness and Jared Sailer scored short-handed and with the man-advantage
earlier in the third period to get River Falls back to even.
Kostichka sealed the deal with a pair of empty-net goals on length of the ice
shots in the final 1:11 of regulation.
"I didn't know Stich had that kind of radar. I think he was picking that
corner," UWSP coach Joe Baldarotta joked. "We really needed that because we
figured we were playing for first place in the league even though it's early.
"We were fundamentally sound and that is what I'm most proud of tonight," he
added. "We did a lot of the little things right. We played solid."
The Pointers (5-3-2, 1-0-1 NCHA) were spectacular on special teams, as they
converted on three of their six power-play chances.
Things were going so well for UWSP that it actually scored first in the game
when Ryan Kirchhoff netted his third goal of the weekend. In 14 of the previous
15 games dating to last year the Pointers played from behind.
Even after River Falls' Garrett Larson tied the game at 1-1 in the first period,
the Pointers never flinched. Instead, Nick Zebro answered with a goal to put
UWSP on top 2-1 after 20 minutes.
"This was a very nice week for us. We had a long talk on Wednesday and the kids
worked hard," said Baldarotta, whose team tied Stout 5-5 on Friday. "Last night
was tough, but I was happy with how the guys rebounded."
That resiliency would come through time and time again.
The Falcons' Sailer struck for a power-play goal to knot the game at 2-2 in the
middle period, before Kostichka and James Jernberg each found the back of the
net for the Pointers to make it 4-2.
And speaking of bouncing back, Bryn Davies got the start in goal for the second
straight night, and the freshman made 23 saves.
"I didn't sleep well last night because I didn't know who I was going to start
in net. Bryn came up to me before the game and said he felt confident and wanted
to start," Baldarotta said. "We gave him the start and he played well."
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