2003-04 WIAC Men's Ice Hockey Headlines

UW-River Falls' Novak Named To Academic All-America Team

RELEASED: Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-River Falls' Rob Novak has been named to the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Men's At-Large Second Team.

Novak, a senior ice hockey player from Hayward, Wis., is majoring in elementary education with minors in health and coaching and carries a 3.92 grade point average. He is a three-time selection on the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) All-Academic Team and was named the WIAC Men's Ice Hockey co-Scholar-Athlete earlier this year. Novak has been named to UW-River Falls' Dean's List six semesters and has received his institution's Oostendorp Student-Athlete Award, which goes to the men's hockey player with the highest GPA, the past three years.

Novak helped the Falcons to a share of the WIAC championship in 2004 and received honorable mention to the all-league squad in 2002, while claiming All-NCHA honorable mention status in 2003. In 2004, he played in all 31 games and tallied three goals and 15 assists for 18 points. Novak played 125 career games for the Falcons and has scored 33 goals and 57 assists for 90 points.

The Academic All-America At-Large Team is selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and includes the sports of golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, swimming and diving, tennis and wrestling.

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Five Named To Men's Academic All-District At-Large Team

RELEASED: Thursday, May 27, 2004

Madison, Wis.--Five Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) student-athletes have been named to the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District Five College Division Men's At-Large Team. UW-River Falls' Rob Novak and UW-Stout's Lewis Kellin were named to the first team, while UW-La Crosse's Troy Fabry and Jason Lulloff and UW-Stevens Point's Matt Sievers were second team selections.

Novak, a senior ice hockey player from Hayward, Wis., is majoring in elementary education with a minor in health and coaching and carries a 3.91 grade point average. He is a three-time selection on the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) All-Academic Team and was named the WIAC men's ice hockey co-scholar-athlete earlier this year. Novak helped the Falcons to a share of the WIAC championship in 2004 and received honorable mention to the all-league squad in 2002, while claiming All-NCHA honorable mention status in 2003.

Kellin, a senior ice hockey player from Cohasset, Minn. (Grand Rapids H.S.), maintains a 3.92 grade point average, while majoring in business with a minor in applied math. He is a two-time member of the NCHA All-Academic Team and shared the WIAC men's ice hockey scholar-athlete award with UW-River Falls' Rob Novak. Kellin is a two-time All-WIAC honorable mention selection.

Fabry, a senior wrestler from Ashwaubenon, Wis., is majoring in physical education with a minor in adaptive physical education and carries a 3.34 grade point average. He has been named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Academic Team for three consecutive years and received the WIAC wrestling scholar-athlete award this season. Fabry is two-time All-American and two-time conference champion at 149 pounds.

Lulloff, a sophomore wrestler from Kiel, Wis., is majoring in exercise and sports science-teaching and carries a 3.74 grade point average. He was named to the NWCA All-Academic Team this year and secured All-America honors with a fourth-place finish at 184 pounds after finishing third in the 174-pound bracket a season ago. Lulloff claimed the conference title at 184 pounds in 2004 after finishing second at 174 pounds in 2003.

Sievers, a senior swimmer from Duluth, Minn. (Proctor H.S.), is majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry and psychology. He maintains a 3.58 grade point average and was named the conference's men's swimming and diving scholar-athlete earlier this season. Sievers helped the Pointers to their fifth straight WIAC title this season by winning the 50-yard freestyle and participating on the first-place 200-yard freestyle relay team. He also earned All-America honors in two events this year, as well as honorable mention recognition in three events.

The academic all-district at-large team is comprised of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA student-athletes from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota and is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). It includes the sports of golf, ice hockey, swimming and diving, tennis and wrestling.

Both Kellin and Novak are now eligible for the Academic All-America squad, which will be announced in mid-June.

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Three Earn Men's Ice Hockey All-America Honors

RELEASED: Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) men's ice hockey players have been named to the 2004 JOFA/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) College Division West Region All-America Team. UW-Stout's Jeff Dotson earned first team honors, while UW-River Falls' Jim Murphy and UW-Superior's Dale Lupul were second team selections.

Dotson, a senior goalie from Chanhassen, Minn. (Chaska H.S.), was named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Player of the Year this season after compiling a 12-8-3 record with a school-record four shutouts, the first shutouts of his collegiate career. He posted a school record goals against average of 2.76, with 777 saves and a save percentage of .923, also a school record.

Murphy, a senior forward from St. Paul, Minn., led UW-River Falls in scoring this season with 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points. In his three years with the Falcons, he tallied 37 goals and 57 assists for 94 points. Murphy added 11 power play goals, one short-handed goal and nine game-winners in his career.

Lupul, a junior defenseman from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, registered five goals and 20 assists for 25 points during the 2004 campaign. He also added two power play goals and one game-winning goal.

The ACHA All-America Teams are sponsored by JOFA, an international leader in hockey equipment, and are chosen by members of the American Hockey Coaches Association.

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UW-River Falls Earns NCAA Men's Ice Hockey At-Large Bid

RELEASED: Monday, March 8, 2004

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-River Falls received one of three at-large bids into the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship and will host a first round game on March 10.

UW-River Falls (20-5-4) will host St. Thomas (Minn.) (17-7-3) on March 10 at 7:05 p.m. in Hunt Arena. St. Thomas earned the automatic bid from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Falcons defeated the Tommies, 5-1, on November 14 and have a 16-11 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams.

The winner of the UW-River Falls/St. Thomas matchup will play at St. Norbert College (25-2-2) on March 13. The Green Knights are the top ranked team in the country, according to the latest USCHO.com poll.

UW-River Falls is making the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and own an all-time record of 21-10. The Falcons won national titles in 1994 and 1988.

Other institutions earning at-large bids into the national tournament included Hobart (NY) (15-7-5) and Curry (MA) (24-3-1).

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UW-River Falls' Novak and UW-Stout's Kellin Receive Men's Ice Hockey Scholar-Athlete Award

RELEASED: Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-River Falls' Rob Novak and UW-Stout's Lewis Kellin have been named 2004 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Max Sparger Men's Ice Hockey Co-Scholar-Athletes, it was announced recently by WIAC Commissioner Gary Karner.

Novak, a senior from Hayward, Wis., is majoring in elementary education with a minor in health and coaching and carries a 3.918 grade point average. He is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll as well as a two-time selection on the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) All-Academic Team. Novak has been named to UW-River Falls' Dean's List six semesters and has received his institution's Oostendorp Student-Athlete Award, which goes to the men's hockey player with the highest GPA, the past two years.

Novak helped the Falcons to a share of the WIAC championship this season and received honorable mention to the all-league squad in 2001-02. He was recognized on the All-NCHA honorable mention team a year ago. Novak participated in the NCAA Division III Playoffs in 2001 and 2003 and reached the Frozen Four in 2001.

Novak has been a member of UW-River Falls' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Kellin, a senior from Cohasset, Minn. (Grand Rapids H.S.), maintains a 3.922 grade point average, while majoring in business with a minor in applied math. He is a two-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and was named to the NCHA All-Academic Team last season. Kellin has received UW-Stout's Chancellor Award and has been named to the Dean's List seven semesters. He has also collected three foundation scholarships from his institution.

Kellin, an assistant captain this year, is a two-time All-WIAC Honorable Mention selection. He recorded three goals and six assists for nine points this season.

UW-River Falls' Jamie Steinert was also nominated for this year's scholar-athlete award.

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is sponsored by Culver's. 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.

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UW-River Falls and UW-Superior Share Men's Ice Hockey Championship

Madison, Wis.--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls men's ice hockey team claimed a share of the 2004 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship with a 8-1 victory over UW-Stevens Point on February 14 in Stevens Point, Wis. The Falcons shared the league title with UW-Superior after both teams finished the regular season with a 4-2-2 conference record (10 points).

It marks the third time in league history that the conference crown has been shared. UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point split the title in 1999 and 1986. The title for the Yellowjackets is their third straight and fifth in school history (2003, 2002, 1994, 1992), while UW-River Falls won its 10th championship (2001, 1999, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982).

UW-River Falls, the fourth-ranked team in the country, had eight different players light the lamp in a season-high scoring effort against the Pointers.

Josh Schlipp and Tony Sikich each scored in the first period as the Falcons took a 2-1 advantage. The Falcons added three more tallies in the second period as Jess Johnson, Steve Moe and Jim Murphy all scored goals.

In the third period, Jamie Steinert, Matt Elsen and Jared Sailer added goals as UW-River Falls cruised to the 8-1 victory and a share of the league crown.

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UW-Stevens Point men's hockey assistant coach Paul Caufield helped guide the United States to the gold medal at the Under-18 World Championships this past week in Piestany, Slovakia.

Caufield was an assistant coach on the squad that finished 5-0 during the championships. The Greendale native is the first Division III coach ever selected to coach with the Under-18 national team.

Caufield was joined as an assistant coach by Notre Dame assistant Andy Slaggert. Minnesota State-Mankato head coach Troy Jutting was the team's head coach. Caufield, who is UW-Stevens Point's all-time leading scorer with 254 points during his career from 1988-92, was in charge of running the forwards and letting the players know when certain units should be on the ice, as well as the penalty killing units.

Madison native Erik Lampe, a member of the Madison Capitols of the United States Hockey League, scored two goals, including the game-winner, on Saturday as the United States rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat Russia 3-2. On Friday, the United States edged seven-time defending champion Canada 4-3 in overtime in a semifinal game.

Team USA opened the tournament on Monday with a 5-2 victory versus Sweden. Following a 3-2 win against Russia on Tuesday, the squad completed Group B play on Wednesday by defeating host Slovakia, 5-1.

Caufield also helped select the team during tryouts July 11-17 in St. Cloud, Minn. He was contacted about the position in late March after helping coach USA Hockey clinics for a number of years. Last summer, he worked with the select U-14 and U-17 teams based out of Colorado Springs.

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