MENOMONIE — A season for the ages barely sums up the 2025-26 UW-Stout Polytechnic hockey campaign, with the Blue Devils perhaps having their best season in program history last winter.
Accolades came aplenty as Stout matched a program season-high 23 victories, including a trip to the NCAA Division III semifinals for the second time in program history, Stout’s first outright regular-season WIAC Conference title and the school’s first Commissioner’s Cup for winning the league’s playoff title.
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Stout coach Mike MacDonald earned WIAC Coach of the Year, while goalkeeper Sebastian Monaco, defenseman Gunner Moore and forwards Hayden Stocks and Nicolas Pigeon all earned all-conference honors.
That success adds expectations for the Blue Devils this season.
“There’s definitely more pressure and I just think it’s natural,” MacDonald said. “We as a coaching staff aren’t sending a message like we need to be successful because this is now the standard here. I don’t think that does a lot of help for our players.”
That success also bring fruits this season.
“This is college sports,” MacDonald said. “We are trying to recruit the best players we have, so we have to talk about our recent successes. It would be silly for us to pretend like it didn’t happen because if we did that, we might lose out on some good players because we’re not helping our brand out and promoting ourselves.”
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In the place of nine letterwinners from last year’s squad, including captains Moore and Kullan Daikawa, the Blue Devils return three all-conference players.
Monaco had a freshman season unlike many others in Stout history. After taking over as Stout’s No. 1 goalie midseason, Monaco starred in the Blue Devils net, winning 15 games and posting three shutouts. He was named an AHCA second-team and USCHO.com All-American.
“Monaco had to earn his opportunities,” MacDonald said. “Through his consistency and solid play, he took a stranglehold of the starting job.”
Stocks and Pigeon return to lead a potent and flowing Blue Devil offensive attack. Stocks had a team-high 17 goals and 39 points last season, good enough for first team All-WIAC, while Pigeon was second with 26 points.
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They’ll be supported by returners Felix Cadieux-Fredette, Sam Kroon, Arhip Sidarovich and Nicholas Stevens.
“It’s very helpful because it eases the burden on myself and the coaching staff that we have a group of guys that know what it takes to win,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald claimed his recruiting class is “potentially the best that Stout hockey has ever had,” which should bolster an already deep Blue Devil lineup.
Add in transfers like Fiodar Nikalayenia of Belarus and DI University of Alaska and former UW-Superior forward and 2024-25 WIAC Newcomer of the Year Ikki Kogawa into the fray, and MacDonald and his staff have plenty of puzzle pieces to juggle.
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“It’s harder for us as a coaching staff to put together lineups because we know that all of our returning guys have proven that they can play at a really high level, and all of our new guys are some of the best recruits that we’ve had in a long time,” MacDonald said. “The challenge this year as a coach is managing the depth of talent we have in a way that guys feel valuable that are playing in a lesser role than maybe they’re used to.”
Stout came into the season ranked in the top five in the polls. After a 2-1-1 start, including a loss at No. 4 Geneseo, the Blue Devils are ranked No. 11 as of Nov. 9.
Nikalayenia and Kogawa have lived up to their billing so far, combining for seven goals already, including a Nikalayenia hat trick in a 5-0 win over Hamline.
The conference season kicks off just before Thanksgiving for Stout.
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No. 15 UW-River Falls, along with UW-Eau Claire, will both be nipping at the Blue Devils’ heels all season.
The Falcons finished third in the WIAC regular season a year ago before Stout held them off in a 5-4 WIAC Championship win. The Blugolds finished two points behind Stout for the regular season title last year.
“Realistically, five of the six teams could win our conference,” MacDonald said. “I really don’t know what to expect. I think it would be silly for us to count any of the UW schools out because as time has proven anything, at any given year, who knows?”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
