EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The seventh ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team finished their home-and-home series with St. Norbert College on Saturday at Hobbs Ice Arena. The Blugolds held their own defensively with 20 blocked shots and seven successful penalty kills as they earned the 5-3 victory at home.
After falling on the road, the night before, UW-Eau Claire came out fast in the first period as they outshot St. Norbert 7-6.
Tyler Herzberg (Fr. – Germantown, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) opened the scoring for UWEC at 10:30 in the first on a 2-on-1 rush with
Kyler Grundy (Jr. – Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail Academy) to give UWEC the early 1-0 lead. Grundy and
Leo Bacallao (So. – Madison, Wis./Vel Phillips Memorial) earned assists on Herzberg's third goal of the year. Just under five minutes later, Trenton Heyde (So. – Atlanta, Ga./Grayson) rifled a shot from the blue line and found the back of the net to increase the Blugold lead to 2-0. Heyde's second goal of the year was his eighth point in the last five games and was assisted by
Austin Becker (Jr. – Amery, Wis.) and
Ben Monson (Fr. – Savage, Minn./Lakeville North). UW-Eau Claire's two goal lead held into the first intermission as both teams hit the locker room with momentum in favor of the Blugolds.
The second period found a shift in that momentum in the first three minutes as St. Norbert found their first goal of the evening at 2:57 of the second frame. The Blugolds' one goal lead lasted until the final five minutes of play as
Connor Szmul (Sr. – Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) capitalized on the powerplay with a quick shot from the back door to increase the lead back to two.
Kyler Grundy and
Quinn Green (Sr. – West Chicago, Ill./St. Charles East) earned assists on the special teams goal. Before the period ended,
Ben Monson sent a shot in from the point and found the back of net for his first collegiate goal and a 4-1 UWEC lead. Trenton Heyde earned his second point of the night with an assist on the Monson goal.
The Green Knights refused to go away quietly as they answered just over 30 seconds later to send the teams into the second intermission with a 4-2 Eau Claire lead.
In the third period, the Blugolds kept their defense tight as they finished the game with 20 blocked shots.
Kyler Grundy added to the two-goal lead just over five minutes into the frame as he took on three Green Knights by himself on the forecheck and netted the final Blugold goal of the evening. St. Norbert found the back of net at 9:58 of the third, but UWEC held on to the 5-3 scoreline to earn their sixth win of the season.
Max Gutjahr (So. – Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced in his fifth win of the season. Gutjahr is now 5-2-1 on the year.
The Blugolds (6-2-1, WIAC 2-1) will be back at home for Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play on Friday, December 1
st when they host UW-Superior. Puck drop from Hobbs Ice Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
