EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team scored six unanswered goals to break a 2-2 tie and win its first game of the season, an 8-2 victory over Bethel College (MN) here tonight at Hobbs Ice Arena.

The Blugolds improve to 1-2-0 on the season while the game for the Royals was their first of the season, dropping Bethel to 0-1-0 for the year.

Eau Claire got the scoring started just 19 seconds into the game when Phil Cherneski (Sr.-Thompson, MAN/RDPC) took a pass from Pete Eloranta (Sr.-River Falls) and shot it past Royal goalie Dustin Thompson to give the Blugolds a 1-0 lead. Ben Manny (Sr.-Chippewa Falls/Chi-Hi) also earned an assist on the goal.

The Royals fired back just 36 seconds later when Joe Matuszewski found the back of the net to tie the game. After an explosive first minute, neither team found the goal until there was just 19 seconds remaining in the first period. Dave Coleman (So.-Whitby, ONT/Leo J. Austin) put the Blugolds ahead with a power play goal, with Chip Dunleavy (Jr.-Littleton, CO/Columbine) and Kyle Garner (So.-Sun Prairie) earning assists.

Bethel again responded, tying the game at two 8:39 into the second period on a power play goal by Ryan Adams. The Blugolds took the lead for good less than two minutes later, when Steve Dus (So.-Onalaska) netted a power play goal. Rob Ouimette (So.-Iron Bridge, ONT/Leamington District) earned the assist on the goal, the first of six unanswered for the Blugolds.

Matt Schultz (Jr.-Menomonie) gave Eau Claire a two goal edge late in the second period, taking a pass from Ryan Hiser (Fr.-Ogden, IL/Dubuque Senior) and beating Thompson to make the score 4-2. Ouimette added to the lead 3:14 into the final period with his first goal of the night. Dus assisted on the goal. With just more than six minutes remaining in the contest, the Blugolds scored three goals in less than three minutes to round out the scoring. Garner scored the first of the three with assists coming from Eloranta and Cherneski while Ouimette scored his second goal of the night to make it 7-2. Coleman earned the assist on the goal by Ouimette and Cherneski scored his second goal of the night to finish the scoring at 8-2. Manny and Eloranta assisted on the final goal of the game.

Ouimette and Cherneski each finished the game with two goals and an assist while Eloranta tallied three assists on the night. Steffan Braunlich (Jr.-Playa del Rey, CA/Loyola) played all 60 minutes in net for Eau Claire, making 25 saves in the win.

The two teams combined for 24 penalties on the night, with each team tallying 12. The Blugolds were 2-for-10 on power play opportunities while the Royals were 1-for-9.

The Blugolds will look for their second win in a row tomorrow night when they host Hamline at 7:05 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Arena.

Eau Claire-Bethel Box Score

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