STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The eighth ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team was back in action on Saturday night as they concluded their top-10 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) home-and-home series with ninth ranked UW-Stevens Point. Despite outshooting UWSP and having multiple opportunities on net, an early goal in third and an empty net goal were too much for the Blugolds as they fell 2-0 on the road.
The opening period featured a defensive effort from the Blugolds as they looked to bounce back after an overtime loss the night before. The UW-Eau Claire penalty kill kept footings in the first frame and throughout the contest as they killed two of the three UWEC penalties in the first 20 minutes of play. Neither side found the back of the net in before the first intermission, as a 0-0 tie led into the second period.
Leo Bacallao (So. – Madison, Wis./Vel Phillips Memorial) and the Eau Claire offense started to heat up in the middle frame as Bacallao recorded four of his game high five shots on goal in the second. The two sides were nearly even in the faceoff circle as the Blugolds won 36 of the 71 draws. After the buzzer ended the second frame, the intensity rose as both sides were assessed minor penalties going into the final frame still deadlocked at 0-0.
In the third, UWEC found themselves with two powerplay opportunities and out shot the Pointers 21-6 as they looked to gain the valuable WIAC points. An early goal by UWSP in the first four minutes of the period increased the task as hand for the visitors.
Colin Stein (Jr. – Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial),
Willy Stauber (Sr. – Duluth, Minn./Marshall), and
Kyler Grundy (Jr. – Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail Academy) each recorded three shots a piece in the third period to add to the comeback effort. The Pointer defense and netminder did not break as they kept the Blugolds from finding the back of the net and added an empty net goal in the final minute of play to hand UWEC their fourth loss of the season.
Max Gutjahr (So. – Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in his third loss of the season. Gutjahr is now 7-3-1 on the year.
The Blugolds (8-4-1, WIAC 4-3) will take the next couple of weeks off for final exams and Christmas Break. They will be back in action on Friday, January 5
th when they hit the road to take on St. Olaf College. Puck drop from St. Olaf Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn. is scheduled for 7 p.m.
