It should be another competitive year in the WIAC.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the favorite going into the season and is seeking its fourth conference title in program history. The Blugolds have also won three league tournament titles.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-River Falls will also be in the hunt. The Pointers enter the year as the reigning national champions and are going to make a run at the WIAC crown.
Wisconsin-River Falls is motivated by the fact that it didn’t get to finish what it started after COVID-19 issues ended its conference tourney run. The Falcons were the top seed in the tournament last season.
Wisconsin-Superior won the league title last season, it’s 11th WIAC championship in program history, and has the experience in place to repeat while Wisconsin-Stout and Northland could play spoiler on any given night to a team’s championship hopes.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire (4-3-1, 4-2-1 WIAC)
Matt Leon begins his 15th season as the head coach of the Blugolds, who are aiming to maintain the offensive success they enjoyed last season when they cranked out 29 goals in just eight games.
Jon Richards should play a big part in keeping things rolling. He’s coming off a season where he scored five of those goals to go along with an assist.
Derek Hammer punched in four goals and also tallied an assist while Charles Weiland was a productive defenseman, finishing with a goal and three assists. Both were all-conference selections last season.
Simon Sagissor will also be looked upon as a key contributor for the Blugolds, who are always in the mix for a league title and more.
Northland (0-8-1, 0-7-1 WIAC)
The Lumberjacks have optimism as they lost just one player to graduation. They hope that leads to success during the 2021-22 campaign.
Chris Curr is back after earning all-conference honors (honorable mention) last season. He started in goal and fashioned a .924 save percentage.
Cameron Coutre is the top returning goal scorer for Northland, racking up three goals last season, and Cole Woodliffe finished second on the team in points (1 goal, 4 assists).
Matt Murphy and Connor Evans will help anchor the defense for the Lumberjacks, who begin their third season in the WIAC.
Wisconsin-River Falls (6-3-1, 5-3 WIAC)
Experience shouldn’t be a problem for the Falcons, who have 19 returning letter winners, including all three of their goaltenders.
Among the key returnees is Vilho Saariluoma, who was the WIAC Newcomer of the Year last season. He scored five goals and dished out eight assists.
Cayden Cahill is back for a fifth season and that experience and familiarity with the program will prove invaluable for the Falcons as they take aim at a conference title run. Cahill finished with four goals and six assists last season.
Dean Buchholz and Dysen Skinner are both back in goal, with Buchholz earning first-team all-conference honors while Skinner was an honorable mention pick in the WIAC. Buchholz was 2-2 and made 117 saves. Skinner finished 3-1 and racked up 135 saves.
As if the depth wasn’t already solid enough, River Falls added four transfers, including Caleb Anderson from Gustavus, who was the MIAC Player of the Year in 2020 as well as an ACHA second-team All-American.
River Falls goes in feeling as if it has a little unfinished business after its semifinal game of the WIAC tournament was canceled because of COVID-19 protocol. The Falcons were the top seed in the tourney last season.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point (7-4-1, 4-4 WIAC)
The Pointers are the last team to win a national title in Division III hockey after winning it in 2019. There was no NCAA tournament in 2020.
It remains to be seen if they can win it again this season, but they’ll certainly be in the mix for a conference title. Carter Roo is among the players back and tied for third in scoring with five goals and four assists.
Jordan Fader will also be counted on offensively after tallying three goals and two assists last season. Brandon McReynolds also returns for the Pointers. Both he and Fader are seniors.
In goal, the Pointers will be able to count on Eli Billing, who started five games and earned two wins. He made 104 saves.
The Pointers’ depth should be bolstered by a handful of transfers, including three from Alabama Huntsville in Mick Heneghan, Noah Finstrom and Connor Witherspoon. Those three have found a new home after the Chargers brought a halt to their hockey program last May.
Tyler Krueger is looking forward to seeing how things go for his team, especially with a return to a little more normalcy.
“There’s a different buzz, a different level of excitement than last year,” Krueger said. “There;s no replacing fans at Willett and this team is excited to experience that again.”
Wisconsin-Stout (4-7, 4-6 WIAC)
Raphael Gosselin was the leading scorer for the Blue Devils a year ago. He’s back ready to build off that success after scoring four goals and dishing out seven assists.
Logan Nelson also returns for Stout after tallying four goals and three assists.
The defense will be anchored by Zach Cloutier, who fashioned a goals against average of 1.63 and recorded a 3-1 record. He racked up 116 saves.
But while the Blue Devils have some experience on the roster, they also have a lot of newcomers. A total of 13 to be exact.
Head coach Mike MacDonald is expecting his team to be an improved one.
“Through recruiting and development, I know we are a better team this season,” MacDonald said. “I am hoping that our growth as a team is reflected in our overall record. I know it won’t be easy because most of our competition this year has improved as well.”
Wisconsin-Superior (7-3, 5-3 WIAC)
The Yellow Jackets won the conference tournament title a season ago. It marked their 11th WIAC crown in program history.
They have a good chance of winning another considering their roster features nine seniors and 11 juniors.
What’s even better is that five of their top six scorers are back, led by top scoring threat Artur Terchiyev, who finished last season with three goals and seven assists.
Chad Lopez also returns. He came through with seven goals and two assists. He finished third on the team in scoring and was the team leader in goals scored.
Dylan Johnson ranked fourth in scoring and is coming off a year where he scored five goals and dished out four assists. Jordan Martin (2 goals, 5 assists) and Coltyn Bates (4 goals, 1 assist) are also back to help lead the way offensively.
Myles Hektor brings experience to the goaltending position. He went 3-0 and fashioned a 1.75 goals against average while making 110 saves.
The Yellow Jackets have added four transfers as well. Two are from Canisius in MacGregor Sinclair and John Stampohar. They also added netminder Landon Pavlisin from Norwich. He played in two games for the Cadets last year and won 49 games in his junior career.
If Superior can build off last season and navigate a challenging start to its season where it will play its first five games on the road, it will have a shot at being one of the top teams in the WIAC.
