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Pointers Finish
Regular Season by Tying Blugolds
Box Score
For a moment, it appeared the UW-Stevens Point men�s
hockey team would have UW-Eau Claire�s number in the third period for the second
straight night. However, the Blugolds were able to rally this time and force a
2-2 tie with the Pointers in the regular season finale at Willett Arena.
The tie dropped the Pointers to the fifth seed for the
upcoming Northern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs. UW-Stevens Point will
open the playoffs at Lake Forest, which soared to the fourth seed after knocking
off league leader and No. 1 ranked St. Norbert.
The Pointers and Foresters tied for fourth place in
the standings, but Lake Forest earned the home ice because of beating UW-Stevens
Point in both regular season meetings. The teams will play in the first round
for the second straight year as Lake Forest won at Stevens Point as the fifth
seed last year. The series will be a best-of-two on Friday and Saturday with a
possible mini-game.
On Saturday, the Pointers jumped out to a quick start
with a goal from Brett Coburn, who put in a rebound of a shot by Matt Stendahl
at the 1:32 mark of the first period. Nick Zebro also assisted on the goal,
which stood until the Blugolds scored on a five-on-three power play at with a
goal from Chip Dunleavy at the 13:11 mark of the second period.
Just like Friday�s 4-2 win over UW-Eau Claire,
Pointers� freshman Russel Law broke a third period tie, getting a power play
goal at the 4:45 mark of the period with assists from Nate Sorenson and Sean
Fish. However, the Pointers were unable to hold the lead this time as the
Blugolds got a game-tying score from Andy Klapperick with 7:19 left in the game.
UW-Stevens Point controlled much of the first two
periods, holding a 29-15 advantage in shots, though failing on six power play
opportunities. The Pointers finished the game by outshooting UW-Eau Claire
38-25. Marcus Paulson made 23 saves for the Pointers, including a stop of a
wide-open breakaway early in the second period. Steffan Braunlich had 36 saves
for the Blugolds, who open the playoffs as the eighth seed at St. Norbert on
Friday. |
