Stuermer sets career point mark, Men's Hockey falls at UW-Stout

MENOMONIE, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Men's Hockey team fell in a high-scoring affair against UW-Stout by an 8-5 count Saturday night. The Falcons scored four goals in the second period, unfortunately that wasn't enough as the Blue Devils had their offense going all night in the non-conference contest.

Despite the loss, the Falcons Devin Stuermer (Milwaukee, Wis.) did re-write the school record books once again. Stuermer finished the night with a goal and an assist and now has 61 career points, the most of any player in Falcons history. He passed Jonathan Smith who previously held the record of 60 from his playing days (2007-11).

Each team ended up tallying four goals in the eight-goal second period, which resulted in the Blue Devils taking a 7-5 lead into the third and final stanza. There, UW-Stout would tack on one more goal to go home with the three-goal win handing the Falcons their second loss against a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent in as many nights.

UW-Stout (3-8-1) got on the board 3:36 into play when Danny Ray netted a goal. That lead wouldn't last long as the Falcons Brandt Weldon (The Pas, Manitoba) scored his second goal of the year just 1:04 later, making the score 1-1. Stuermer picked up his first point of the night with an assist on the Weldon score.

The 1-1 score would hold until the Blue Devils posted two goals over the final 5:20 of the opening period. Joey Haydock put UW-Stout up 2-1 before Justin Moody netted his fifth goal of the year, putting the Falcons in a two-goal deficit after 20 minutes of play.

The Falcons had the first goal of the high-scoring second period as Stuermer made the score 3-2. Sophomore Tanner Bull (Brooklin, Ontario) and Weldon had assists on Stuermer's record-breaking goal. The Blue Devils had a quick answer, scoring twice over the next 3:20 to push their lead to 5-2 before freshman Braden Crone (Metiskow, Alberta) scored at the 6:18 mark, trimming the deficit to 5-3.

Each team would add two more goals over the rest of the second period and the Blue Devils would go on to add one more in the third, resulting in the 8-5 final. Moody led all players with two goals for UW-Stout, while Stuermer, Weldon and Crone all had two points to pace the Falcons attack.

Freshman Anthony Pickering (Sylvan Lake, Alberta) added a goal on Saturday night, marking the 11th straight game in which he has scored a point. It was thought Pickering's streak came to an end Wednesday against Aurora but a recent stat change now has him at 11-straight, a new program record.

Goaltenders had some tough times Saturday. The Blue Devils Spencer Viele made 27 saves in earning the win. Junior Domingo Torrenueva (Oshawa, Ontario) made just 11 saves in facing 16 shots and was replaced by freshman Dylan Frank (Truro, Nova Scotia) early in the second period. Frank stopped 15 shots.

CUW (6-9-0) will return to action next weekend when they play a home-and-home series against defending national champion St. Norbert College. Friday's contest will be in De Pere, while the Falcons will host the Green Knights Saturday night. Both games are set to begin at 7 p.m.