Saint John's hockey makes its first road trip of the season to Wisconsin for a pair of non-conference games this Friday (at No. 11 Wisconsin-Stevens Point) and Saturday (at Wisconsin-Stout), Nov. 12-13. 

GAME COVERAGE
-Friday, Nov. 12: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
-Saturday, Nov. 13: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Bethel's Caydon Meyer scored as the final horn sounded in overtime to hand Saint John's (1-2-1, 0-1-0 MIAC) a 1-0 loss last night (Nov. 10) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (HBNHC) in St. Cloud.

The Johnnies dominated puck possession all night long and out-shot BU by a 42-25 margin, but their power-play woes continued with a 0-for-4 showing. 

SJU totaled 83 shot attempts to 51 for BU, but 28 were wide of the net. The Johnnies edged the Royals in defensive blocked shots, 16-13.

Senior goaltender Mac Berglove (Elk River, Minn.) made 24 saves, including three on breakaways, in the loss to even his record at 1-1-1. He now has a 1.58 GAA and a .946 save percentage in three starts so far this season.

The loss snapped SJU's unbeaten streak in the series at 15 games (a 14-0-1 record) and was the first to BU at the HBNHC since Nov. 11, 2010 (4-3).

STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-UWSP, 2.25 gpg.
-SJU, 1.75 gpg.
-STOUT, 1.75 gpg.
 
Scoring Defense
-SJU, 2.40 GAA
-UWSP, 3.00 GAA
-STOUT, 3.44 GAA

Power Play
-STOUT, 12.5 percent (2-for-16)
-UWSP, 0.0 percent (0-for-8)
-SJU,  percent (0-for-18)
 
Penalty Kill
-STOUT, 83.3 percent (10-12)
-SJU, 71.4 percent (10-for-14)
-UWSP, 63.6 percent (7-for-11)

A LOOK AT THE POINTERS: Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2-2 overall) went 1-1 against MIAC schools last weekend on the road. The Pointers edged Gustavus Adolphus by a 2-1 score Friday and fell to St. Scholastica by the same score Saturday night. Wilson Northey leads the team in points (4) and assists (3), while three Pointers have two goals apiece: sophomore defenseman Nicholas Aromatario and senior forwards Jordan Fader and Brandon McReynolds. Senior Ryan Wagner has played the bulk of the minutes in net so far and has a 1.95 GAA and a .914 save percentage (74 saves). UWSP went 7-4-1 in the shortened 2020-21 season and was picked second, behind Wisconsin-Eau Claire, in the WIAC preseason coaches' poll.

TWO YEARS AGO: Then-No. 5 Wisconsin-Stevens Point handed SJU its first loss of the 2019-20 season, 6-4, the last time these two teams met on Nov. 15, 2019, at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud.

Jack Theis gave Stevens Point, the reigning NCAA Division III champion, a 1-0 lead with his first collegiate goal 12:50 into the game. Both teams, however, scored four goals in a wild second period. 

Forward Brady Heppner '20 tied the game at 1-1 with his team-leading fourth goal of the season 55 seconds in the second period when his crossing pass deflected in on net. Defenseman Travis Brown '21 gave SJU a short-lived 2-1 lead 7:11 into the frame, but the Pointers answered 43 seconds later, the first of four consecutive goals. The visitors scored three goals over a 2:51 span during that stretch.

The Johnnies stormed back thanks to a pair of UWSP penalties, 31 seconds apart, late in the second period. Junior forward Auggie Moore (Edina, Minn.) cut it to 5-3 with his third goal in the previous two games during the 5-on-3 power play and forward Ryan Kero '21 made it 5-4 with the remaining man advantage 20 seconds later. SJU continued to press in the third period, out-shooting UWSP by a 16-13 margin, but the Pointers added an insurance goal on the power play with 9:52 remaining.

SERIES HISTORY: UWSP is unbeaten in the series over the last eight games (0-7-1 SJU record), which ended a streak of four straight wins for the Johnnies. 

A LOOK AT THE BLUE DEVILS: Wisconsin-Stout (0-4 overall), like Wisconsin-Stevens Point, played the Saints (L, 4-1) and Gusties (L, 2-0) but flipped evenings. The Blue Devils host No. 7 Augsburg Friday night before the Johnnies come to town. Senior forward Logan Nelson leads the team in goals (2) and points (3). Three different goaltenders have made a start so far this season and have combined for a 3.44 GAA and a .888 save percentage (111 saves).

THE LAST TIME: SJU bounced back with a 5-0 shutout of Wisconsin-Stout on Nov. 16, 2019, at the MAC. All five goals were even-strength and 13 different Johnnies recorded a point in the victory. Berglove made 28 saves to record his second collegiate shutout.

Kero put SJU on the scoreboard with his third goal of the season, and second of the weekend, 8:19 into the game. Senior forward Brady Dahl (Rochester, Minn.) made it 2-0 thanks to his first goal of the season with 3:34 remaining in the first period before forward Kyle Wagner '20 lit the lamp twice, at the 13:26 mark of the second period and 1:49 into the third. Russell Harren ended the scoring with his first collegiate goal with 3:58 remaining in the game.

SJU out-shot the Blue Devils 36-28, of which 10 shots came during a 0-for-4 showing on the power play. The Johnnies' penalty kill, meanwhile, held Stout without a shot on two power-play opportunities.

SERIES HISTORY: The opposite of the Stevens Point series, SJU is unbeaten against Stout over the last eight meetings (7-0-1 record).