EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- Corey Koop recorded another memorable game as he stopped 51 shots and Wisconsin-Stout went on to a 3-2 win against Wisconsin-Eau Claire at Hobbs Ice Center on Thursday.
Koop, who earlier in the season recorded 59 saves against nationally ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point, put together another gem, in particular late in the game.
With Stout (8-16-0, 4-7-0 WIAC) leading 3-1 late in the game, the Blugolds (16-7-1, 5-5-1 WIAC) pulled to within one goal on a shot by Jack Callahan with 1:35 remaining.
Koop tightened up the rest of the way with an extra Eau Claire attacker on the ice, stopping five shots in the final 95 seconds. Many of the shots came immediately after faceoffs in the Stout zone.
Jordan Tredinnick gave Stout the early lead with a power-play goal at 7:02 of the second period. The Blugolds tied the game two minutes later on a Joe Krause goal.
Stout took the lead for good, notching its second power-play goal of the night, this one by Kevin O'Donnell at 1:34 of the third period. Zach Vierling notched his second assist of the night.
Stout got what would prove to be the game winner at 5:32 when Joe Haydock, with assists by Logan Maly and Matt Millis.
Krause scored to pull Eau Claire to within one, and Koop did the rest.
Tyler Green stopped 25 shots for Eau Claire. Stout was 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Blue Devils killed off all four Blugold power-play opportunities.
No. 10 Wisconsin-River Falls 5, No. 3 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 4
STEVENS POINT, Wis. -- Wisconsin-River Falls clinched the No. 1 seed for next week's WIAC tournament with a wild 5-4 win against Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers on Thursday evening.
The Pointers entered the contest having not allowing more than four goals in one game all season. The Falcons equaled that total in the second period alone. The Pointers had allowed four goals four times this season, going 2-1-1 in those contests.
The Falcons scored just two goals in 120 minutes against UW-Stevens Point in a late January home series, but tallied five in 60 minutes on Thursday. The Pointers never led at any point as UW-River Falls had 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, 5-3 and 5-4 leads.
Falcons senior forward Alec Hagaman played the hero, scoring two huge goals to put UW-River Falls ahead 3-2 and 4-3. Hagaman's late-season resurgence has been huge for the first-place Falcons. Senior goaltender Scott Lewan (11-4) also had a big performance, stopping 34 shots.
Falcons freshman forward Cory Lushanko opened the scoring at 1:12 of the first period, as he slipped behind a defender and was fed nicely by line-mate Mike Fazio. Lushanko's third career goal beat Pointers junior goaltender Brandon Jaeger (16-3-1) low blocker side. Fazio's assist was his second career helper.
