College Hockey:

NCAA D-III First Round: St. Thomas vs. UW-Stout

St. Thomas (19-6-2 overall, 11-4-1 in MIAC)

Tonights NCAA Opening Round game between St. Thomas and University of Wisconsin-Stout features programs with very different histories.

And its St. Thomas who has prestige on their side. With 21 more victories than Middlebury, the Tommies are the winningest program in Division III hockey history. Three times in the last five seasons, St. Thomas has won the MIAC championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

They have eight conference titles in their programs history, and were the runners-up to Middlebury in the 2005 national tournament. Five seniors on this years squad skated in that championship game. In contrast, Stout is making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance.

With so much history in his programs background, St. Thomas coach Terry Skrypek must be looking ahead to a looming Saturday battle with St. Norbert and a potential final four bid, right?

We havent even discussed St. Norbert. Skrypek said before tonights match-up. Were totally focused on Stout.

The Tommies come into tonights game a week after clinching the MIAC title on the road against Hamline. That was a game St. Thomas took control of early, scoring 1:33 into the first and never looked back. The Tommies never trailed to a Hamline team they were only able to secure one point against in two games earlier in the season.

It was a big win for us. We had struggled against them in the two previous games and it was nice to win a solid one, 4-1. Skrypek said. We shut their power play down and if they had been able to convert, it could have been a different game.

Hamline came into Wednesdays contest with the strongest power play in the nation, but couldnt convert on eight tries with the man advantage.

I think the key was to pressure them as quickly as we could and force them into some errors.

On the opposite end, St. Thomas was held to 0-for-5 on the man advantage in that game as well. Skrypek feels his team just narrowly missed some chances and that the number doesnt tell the whole story.

We had some great chances. We hit one crossbar and one pipe on the power play. So we could have had two goals with a little bit of luck.

Even without scoring when up a man, St. Thomas was able to control the action, outshooting the Pipers, 34-20. That was a similar story to when the Tommies met the Blue Devils earlier in the season.

In that game, St. Thomas out shot Stout 39-25, controlling the pace of the game for most of the contest. Only two late goals, one with the extra attacker, by Joel Gaulrapp forced overtime, where the teams skated to a 3-3 tie. One of those late goals was off a turnover in the defensive zone, while another was a slap shot from just inside the blue line.

We let them off the hook. Skrypek said. It was a game we were in control and I think we should have won. We kind of handed it to them on a silver platter at the end of the game.

Despite the fact that Skrypek feels his team should have taken the first meeting between the two teams, hes not taking this match-up lightly, noting that Stout has undergone significant changes since that game back in November, including line changes, personnel shakeups, and an overall adjustment in philosophy.

Hockey is a game of little battles and you have to win those little battles to make opportunities for yourself. [We] dont have to make any wholesale changes [against Stout]. [We] just have to be on top of the little one-on-ones in the corners that create loose pucks, get the loose pucks, and then get the puck to the net.

Skrypek knows his team will have to play strong defensively against an offensively-minded Stout squad, preventing turnovers in the neutral zone and limiting opportunities for the Blue Devils in the offensive zone.

The approach will be different for St. Thomas than for Stout. The Tommies have a core of seniors who played in a national championship game and can guide the younger players on the team through the pressure associated with playing in the NCAA tournament.
The nerves of playing in the tournament, combined with the normal pressure of being on the road means that the beginning of this contest could be crucial. If St. Thomas can take advantage of the other factors surrounding the game and take an early lead, it could be difficult for the Blue Devils to respond.

In their previous two games, the Tommies have allowed a total of just two goals. Tyler Chestnut has been an integral part of St. Thomas success this season, and the Tommies will need another strong showing between the pipes to advance tonight.

These teams skated to a 3-3 deadlock earlier in the season in this rink, but there will be no tie tonight. If the Tommies can execute their game plan of mistake-free hockey and get another strong showing between the pipes, they have a chance to face St. Norbert Saturday.

UW-Stout (18-8-3 overall, 7-5-2 in NCHA)

Over the past few seasons, Stout has established itself as one of the elite teams in the nation. The Blue Devils big coming out party came last season as they tied for the NCHA regular season crown and posted a 21-5-2 record.

It wasnt quite enough, however, as come NCAA Tournament selection time Stout was left on the outside looking in.

The Blue Devils had another fine season this year, finishing second in the NCHA and losing to St. Norbert 4-3 in overtime in the Peters Cup Finals. All told, Stout finished with an 18-8-3 record.

This time it was enough, as the Blue Devils learned Sunday evening they will be making their first trip to the NCAA tournament in school history.

Its great, and I really think the kids earned it, said Blue Devil head coach Terry Watkins. I think you could look at our record and maybe question it, but you want the best teams playing well at the end and I think we beat some darn good teams in the end.

Stevens Point I think was a hell of a hockey team. I think they were 12-2-2 going in and we beat them twice in our barn. I was ecstatic we beat them, and then Eau Claire was playing very good hockey late in the year.

The Blue Devils have even gone toe-to-toe with top-ranked St. Norbert twice in past month, earning a 3-3 tie at home before dropping last weekends 4-3 overtime contest.

I think to have played St. Norbert as tough as we have twice in the past month is, you know, pretty exciting, said Watkins.

Will Stout’s first NCAA tournament appearance be one worth celebrating?

Having gotten it done when it counted, Stout will travel to MIAC playoff champion St. Thomas for its opening round contest. The Tommies are certainly familiar with the postseason, and Stout is certainly familiar with the Tommies.

Their head coach Terry Skrypek and I have known each other for 48 years, explained Watkins. We played against each other in grade school, we were teammates in high school, and played against each other in college. Weve known each other for a very long time and are very good friends.

The teams are familiar with each other on the ice as well, having met on an almost annual basis for the past decade.

The Blue Devils have gotten the best of the St. Thomas lately, posting a 4-0-1 record against the Tommies since a 7-0 loss on December 12, 2002.

Weve actually beaten them the last few years prior to this year, said Watkins. Im not sure how but we even beat them the year they lost the title game of the (NCAA) tournament.

As far as this year is c