STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team began Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play on Tuesday as they traveled to UW-Stevens Point for a top-15 ranked matchup. An opening period 3-1 deficit was too much for the #5 Blugolds to overcome as they fell 5-3 to the #14 Pointers.
UW-Eau Claire found themselves behind the eight ball early as UW-Stevens Point found the game's first tally at the 3:24 mark.
Kyler Grundy (Jr. – Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail Academy) and the Blugolds battled back hard to get back into the game as Grundy tallied his second goal of the season just after the halfway mark of the first frame to tie the game at 1-1.
Leo Bacallao (So. – Madison, Wis./Vel Phillips Memorial) received the lone assist on UWEC's first goal of the contest. UWSP found refused to stay level as the Pointers scored twice in the following six minutes to give UWEC a 3-1 deficit heading into the first intermission.
The second period began in the Blugolds' favor as
Leo Bacallao found the back of the net on the power play in the opening four minutes to cut the Stevens Point lead to just one goal.
Trenten Heyde (So. – Atlanta, Ga./Grayson) earned the lone helper on Bacallao's team leading third goal of the season. The Pointers once again answered Eau Claire's tally with a power play goal of their own at 5:41 to retake their two-goal lead. Despite getting outshot 28-25 during the evening WIAC matchup, UW-Eau Claire stayed resilient as they looked to keep their unbeaten streak alive.
With a two-goal deficit to begin the third period,
Sammy Martel (Sr. – Bolingbrook, Ill./Nequa Valley) opened the frame with his second goal of the season to bring Eau Claire within one goal of UWSP. With a total of five UWSP power play opportunities, UWEC locked their defense down in the third and kept the lead from increasing as they looked to find an equalizer. Despite keeping the Pointers at bay, the Blugolds couldn't find the back of the net in the final 15 minutes of the contest as UWSP netted their fifth goal of the night at 14:06 to hand UW-Eau Claire their first loss of the season, 5-3.
Max Gutjahr (So. – Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) stopped 23 of the 28 shots he faced in his first loss of the season. Gutjahr is now 3-1 on the season.
The Blugolds (3-1, WIAC 0-1) will be back at home on the road for more WIAC games beginning Friday, November 17
th when they travel to Ashland, Wis. to face off with Northland College. Puck drop from Bay Area Civic Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
