2007-08 WIAC Men's Ice Hockey Headlines Loen Named UW-Eau Claire Men’s Ice Hockey Head Coach RELEASED: Monday, April 14, 2008 Eau Claire, Wis.--After leading the UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey program to one of its most successful seasons ever as interim head coach, Matt Loen has been named the permanent head coach following a national search, Director of Athletics Scott Kilgallon announced today. The Blugolds finished with an overall record of 11-16-1 and 6-7-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, taking fifth place in the conference. In the NCHA playoffs, the Blugolds won their first-round series against Superior and then lost to Stout in overtime of the NCHA Semifinals. Prior to the 2007-08 first-round playoff series victory, the Blugolds had never won a series since joining the NCHA. “We are excited to have Matt Loen on board as the head men’s hockey coach,” Kilgallon said. “He did a tremendous job with the program last season and has what it takes to get the program to the next level. He knows UW-Eau Claire and the community very well and will provide great leadership for the program.” Loen is equally excited about the opportunity to be the Blugolds’ ninth head coach in program history. “I am honored to be the head coach for the Blugold men’s hockey team,” Loen said. “I feel very fortunate to be in the position, and it is a dream come true. I look forward to continuing the process of building a strong program.” Loen is a Blugold alum who played for Ian Perrin in the period from 1991 through 1995. The Spring Lake Park, Minnesota native was the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year for the 1994-95 season. He was a two-time All-NCHA first team pick and also one of only four Blugolds ever named to the American Hockey Coaches Association All-American first team. With that award, he stands in the company of Alex Hicks, Greg Robertson and Mike Schwengler as Blugold AHCA All-Americans. Loen ranks 10th on the school’s all-time scoring list with 120 points on 43 goals and 77 assists. However, he was not a dominant performer until his junior season. In his final two years, he scored 96 points in 54 games including 56 as a senior. That represents the fifth best single season production in school history. Following his Blugold career, Loen spent eight seasons playing professional hockey. He was affiliated with the Madison Monsters and Madison Kodiaks of the UHL, the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL and the AHL, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL, the Kalamazoo K-Wings of the UHL, the Tacoma Sabercats of the WCHL and the Rockford IceHogs of the UHL. He played over 500 games and compiled over 575 points. He was named the United Hockey League Rookie of the Year in 1995-96 while playing for the Madison Monsters. During his final year as a professional player, he was also an assistant coach with the Rockford IceHogs. He returned to Eau Claire to assist Jean Laforest as a Blugold assistant for one season before helping college teammate Mike Schwengler at Eau Claire Memorial High School during the 2004-05 campaign. He returned to the Blugolds when former head coach Luke Strand took over in 2005-06. # # # # # Eight Secure USCHO.com All-America Honors RELEASED: Monday, April 14, 2008 Madison, Wis.--Eight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) individuals have been named to the 2008 USCHO.com NCAA Division III All-America West Team. UW-River Falls’ T.J. Dahl (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) and Jim Henkemeyer (Sr., St. Cloud Minn.) and UW-Stout’s Jack Wolgemuth (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) were first team choices, while the Falcons’ Pat Borgestad (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) and Derek Hansberry (Jr., Arvada, Colo.) and UW-Superior’s Chad Beiswenger (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.) were second team selections. The Blue Devils’ Derek Hanson (So., Bemidji, Minn.) and the Yellowjackets’ Derek Paige (Sr., Lagon Lake, British Columbia) were honorable mention honorees. UW-Stevens Point’s Thomas Speer (Fr., Janesville, Wis.) was selected to the All-Rookie Team. The teams were chosen by the USCHO.com staff. # # # # # Four Claim RBK Hockey All-America Honors RELEASED: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Madison, Wis.--Four Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) individuals have been named to the 2008 RBK Hockey NCAA Division III All-America Team. UW-River Falls’ T.J. Dahl (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) and Jim Henkemeyer (Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.) were first team selections, while the Falcons’ Pat Borgestad (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) and UW-Stout’s Jack Wolgemuth (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) were second team choices. Dahl and Henkemeyer claimed first team recognition for the second straight year. The RBK Hockey All-American Teams are sponsored by RBK Hockey, an international leader in hockey equipment, and chosen by members of the American Hockey Coaches Association. # # # # # UW-Stout Claims NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Bid RELEASED: Monday, March 10, 2008 Madison, Wis.--For the first time in school history, University of Wisconsin-Stout has been invited to participate in the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament. The Blue Devils (18-8-3) earned one of four at-large bids into the 10-team national field and will travel to University of St. Thomas (Minn.) (19-6-2) for a first round contest on March 12 at 7 p.m. The two teams met earlier this season in St. Paul, Minn., and skated to a 3-3 draw. The winner of the first round game will travel to St. Norbert College for a quarterfinal matchup on March 15. # # # # # UW-River Falls’ Freeman Claims Men’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Honor RELEASED: Thursday, February 28, 2008 Madison, Wis.--For the sixth straight season, University of Wisconsin-River Falls’ Steve Freeman has been named the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year, based on a vote of the league coaches. Freeman earned the award for the seventh time in his career after directing the Falcons to the WIAC championship for the fifth consecutive year. He is in his 12th season at UW-River Falls and owns a career record of 238-98-25. The 238 wins rank third on the conference’s all-time list. # # # # # UW-Superior’s Cosgrove Claims Men’s Ice Hockey Scholar-Athlete Award RELEASED: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Dustin Cosgrove has been named the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men’s Ice Hockey Scholar-Athlete. A senior from Neepawa, Manitoba, Cosgrove is majoring in accounting and boasts a 3.87 grade point average. He is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and a two-time Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) All-Academic selection. Cosgrove has also been recognized on UW-Superior’s Dean’s List and received the school’s Leslie Olson Scholarship, which is given annually to one accounting major. A two-year team captain, Cosgrove was named to the All-WIAC Sportsmanship Team this year and received All- WIAC first team recognition a year ago after securing honorable mention status in 2006. He also earned All-NCHA honorable mention accolades during the 2006 campaign. Cosgrove has served as a volunteer for Buddy Walk and a middle school mentoring program. Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-Eau Claire’s Jeremiah Weber (Sr., Hayward, Wis.), UW-River Falls’ Jason Usher (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and UW-Stout’s Jacob Erickson (Sr., Rochester, Minn./Century). The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. Sparger served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference from July, 1971 - July, 1993. In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, be in their last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years. # # # # # Falcons Claim Fifth Straight Hockey Crown RELEASED: Saturday, February 16, 2008 River Falls, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-River Falls won its fifth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) men’s ice hockey championship with a 5-3 victory over rival UW-Stout on Feb. 15 at Hunt Arena. The league title is the 14th in program history, while the string of five straight trophies is the second longest in WIAC history behind their own streak of seven consecutive crowns from 1982-1988. In the victory over the No. 11-ranked Blue Devils, the 10th ranked Falcons got on the scoreboard just 3:15 into the game when Tyler Czuba tapped in a rebound on a power play. Under four minutes later, UW-River Falls’ Dustin Norman stole the puck from a Blue Devil defenseman. As he skated in, he attempted to dish the puck across to Pat Borgestad, but the puck tipped off a UW-Stout player and found the back of the net. The Falcons struck quickly again when TJ Dahl wristed the puck past Devil goaltender Mike Stone off a faceoff win from Czuba. UW-Stout recorded back-to-back power-play goals from Jack Wolgemuth after falling behind 4-0 in the second period, but the Falcons’ Matt Szupura countered with a goal early in the third stanza to put the game out of reach. Stephen Ritter make 39 saves on 42 shots for UW-River Falls, while Mike Stone stopped 23 shots for the Blue Devils. UW-River Falls finished the regular season with a 16-6-3 mark overall and 5-2-1 in WIAC contests, while the Blue Devils were 15-7-3 and 3-4-1.