EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - After a stunning 5-1 victory last Saturday over third-ranked St. Norbert College, the UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team faltered with a 5-2 loss tonight against seventh-ranked St. Scholastica at Hobbs Ice Center.

The Blugolds' Joe Bluhm (Sr.-Red Wing, Minn.) kicked off the scoring tonight with an unassisted goal eight minutes into the first period to give the home team the lead.

The second period yielded a power-play goal for Nic Weight (So.-Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines) at 3:21 with assists from D.J. Clark (Sr.-Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park) and Isaiah Bennis (Fr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) to give the Blugolds the insured two-goal lead. St. Scholastica was only just beginning its night however, as they scored two goals at 9:43 and 19:28 to end the period tied.

The third period started quickly for St. Scholastica as they scored two goals at 1:46 and 2:02 to take the 4-2 lead. St. Scholastica put the final nail in the coffin as they scored in the closing 36 seconds on an empty net to give the Saints the 5-2 victory.

Eau Claire outshot St. Scholastica 46-28 and edged out the Cardinals' in penalties, recording six for 12 minutes to St. Scholastica's seven for 14 minutes. Eau Claire was 1-for-4 on power plays, while St. Scholastica finished 0-for-2.

Tyler Brigl (Sr.-Eagan, Minn./Eastview) defended the net for the Blugolds, playing for 58:58 minutes and picking up 23 saves on the night.

The Blugolds drop to 6-9-3 on the season and 2-6-3 in NCHA play while St. Scholastica improves to 12-3-3 overall and 5-2-3 in the conference.

The Blugolds will have a chance at redemption tomorrow night as they take on St. Scholastica again at 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Center.