ASHLAND, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team earned its first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) victory of the season by defeating Northland College 6-1 on Friday.
Trenten Heyde (So. – Atlanta, Ga./Grayson) had a historic night for the sixth-ranked Blugolds, dishing five assists to match the best single-game mark in program history. It also stands as the third-best assist total ever in a WIAC game. His five points tied for the second-best mark in Blugold history.
Heyde's showing was the first time a Blugold registered five assists in a single game since Adam Knochenmus did so in December 2015.
The Blugolds wasted no time building an advantage.
Leo Bacallao (So. – Madison, Wis./Memorial) found the back of the net just under a minute and a half into the first period to put the Blugolds ahead. Heyde and
Tyler Herzberg (Fr. – Germantown, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) assisted the opening score.
Northland equalized off a power play three minutes later, leveling the score at 1-1. Neither team scored again in the opening period.
When both teams came back on the ice for the second period, Heyde didn't wait long top put UW-Eau Claire back in front. He struck on a power play 55 seconds into the period to make the score 2-1 in the Blugolds' favor. UW-Eau Claire added another power-play goal later in the period, with
Connor Szmul (Sr. – Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) scoring this time. He found the net with help from assists by Heyde and
Quinn Green (Sr. – West Chicago, Ill./St. Charles East) with under three minutes left until the second intermission.
UW-Eau Claire broke the game open by scoring three times in the third period.
Sammy Martel (Sr. – Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) started the party with a power-play goal about halfway through the period, off assists from
Jack Johnston (Sr. – St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy and Summit School) and
Kyle Oleksiuk (Jr. – Winnipeg, Manitoba). Johnston scored with help from Heyde and Oleksiuk four minutes later, and
Kyler Grundy (Jr. – Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail Academy) completed the scoring off a power play with just over five minutes left. Heyde and Green assisted.
Josh Langford (So. – Frisco, Texas/Reedy) had 13 saves to earn the win in goal. Heyde's five assists were a career best. Six Blugolds tallied multi-point nights.
The Blugolds (4-1-1, 1-1-0) will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 18, with a visit to UW-River Falls (4-2-0, 1-1-0). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Hunt Arena.
