MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN - The UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team lost 1-6 to the St. Thomas Tommies today. The Tommies were ranked third in the CSTV Division III Preseason Poll.

The Tommies got off to a fast start with two first period goals. The first came at 16:30 on a power-play. The second also was during an advantage, this time at 18:01 into the period. The period saw no Blugolds goals.

The Tommies quieted down in period two as they were held in check for no goals. Eau Claire also did not score in the period. Eau Claire had 11 shots on goal in both period one and period two.

A St. Thomas onslaught came in final period. At 1:34 into the third, Matt Kaiser scored the first of two goals on the evening. This one was on a power-play. Eau Claire then got on the board with their only goal of the night with a Chip Dunleavy (Sr.-Littleton, CO/Columbine) power-play goal. Assists came from Dave Coleman (Jr.-Whitby, ONT/Leo. J. Austin) and Evan Byers (Fr.-Eagan, MN) on this 4:07 goal. This is Dunleavy's second of the year. The Tommies reestablished the three-goal lead with a goal at 4:22. It was Kaiser's second and was even-handed. Another even-handed goal came at 10:01 and the final score of the night came with a power-play goal 15:15 into the period, making for a 1-6 game.

The Blugolds were outshot 38-25 on the evening. The final period saw 21 Tommie shots on goal and three for the Blugolds. The Blugolds had six power-plays, but failed to capitalize on five of them. St. Thomas went 4 for 8 in that category.

Steffan Braunlich (Sr.-Los Angeles, CA/Loyola) made 27 saves and allowed five goals. Chris Nelson (Sr.-Madison/Memorial) made five and allowed one. Braunlich took the loss to go 0-2-0. Their counterpart made 24 saves and allowed one goal.

The team is now 0-2-1. St. Thomas is 1-1-0.

The Blugolds next face Hamline in the Twin Cities next Friday. The game begins at 7:00 p.m.

Results

- PH -