APPLETON, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team was unable to hold on to an early lead and ended up falling 3-2 against Lawrence University at Appleton Ice Center tonight.

The Blugolds (0-2-0) got on the board first with Isaiah Bennis (Fr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) scoring an even-strength goal at 13:22 in the opening period. Lawrence (1-0-0) answered less than three minutes later after a power-play goal by Ben DiMarco.

Eau Claire went back up in the second period at 6:31 after D.J. Clark (Sr.-Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) scored on a power-play with assists from Tyler Romasco (So.-Perry, Ohio) and Tyler Weigel (Sr.-Madison, Wis./Oregon).

Lawrence came out strong in the third period and scored just over a minute in to tie the game up before Marc Howe scored the eventual game-winner at 14:12 to make the score 3-2. Both were even-strength goals.

The Blugolds outshot Lawrence 34-24 on the night. Scott Pederson (So.-Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake) played 58:49 between the pipes for Eau Claire and picked up 21 saves while Lawrence's Evan Johnson recorded 32 saves, playing the full 60 minutes.

Up next, Eau Claire will start a four-game home stand. The Blugolds will play Augsburg College (Minn.) Friday and will then take on Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) Saturday. Both games will start at 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Center.