LAKE FOREST, Ill. - A night after facing the top team in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA), the UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team took on cellar-dwelling Lake Forest College (IL) and won 4-2 thanks to two third-period scores.

The Blugolds improve to 4-5-0 in NCHA games and 8-12-0 overall. The Foresters drop to 0-9-0 versus NCHA opponents and 2-17-1 in all contests. They have lost six straight games.

Eau Claire outshot Lake Forest 13-to-5 in the first period, with one of those shots finding net. Nate Smith (So.-Clayton) put the goal in just 2:31 into the game. Ross Janecyk (Fr.-Grand Rapids, MI) and Peter Bracker (Jr.-Albert Lee, MN) provided assists on the evenhanded goal.

The Blugolds would extend the lead to two at 16:14 in the second when Greg Petersen (Jr.-Maple Grove, MN/Totino-Grace) took a pass from Sean Garrity (Sr.-North St. Paul, MN/North) and knocked it in. This time the score was on a power-play. Peter Pfeffer than singlehandedly brought Lake Forest back into the game. He scored goals at 18:37 and then 19:57 to tie it up in a hurry. The first was on an advantage while the second was not.

Most of the third had gone by before Eau Claire broke the tie. Tony Janssen (So.-Superior) did the honors at 13:48 on a power-play while Smith and DJ Clark (So.-Blaine, MN) assisted. Joe Bluhm (So.-Red Wing, MN) made the Blugolds feel more comfortable at 17:41 when his evenmanned score occurred. Jesse Vesel (Jr.-Hibbing, MN) tallied an assist on the play.

For the game, the Blugolds outshot the Foresters 35-to-25 as Tyler Brigl (So.-Eagan, MN) knocked down 23 shots and took the win.

Lake Forest had nine penalties and they helped contribute to the Blugold win, as Eau Claire went 2-for-6 on the advantage. Six Blugold penalties resulted in four power-plays for Lake Forest. It converted on one.

The team looks to jump above .500 in the NCHA next weekend when it travels to No. 10 UW-Stout on Friday and hosts No. 4 UW-River Falls on Saturday.

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