RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team secured a key Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) victory over UW-River Falls on Saturday, defeating the Falcons 7-5 at Hunt Arena. The Blugolds rode a five-goal second period to victory and rose to third place in the WIAC standings as a result.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UW-Eau Claire (9-13-1, 7-6-0) unleashed a flurry in the second period after the teams were tied at 1-1 through the first period. UW-River Falls (12-10-1, 6-6-1) got on the board first early in the game, but Danny Reis (Fr. - Waunakee, Wis.) pulled the Blugolds level in the closing minutes of the opening period.
- Connor Szmul (Sr. - Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) and Will Brenner (Fr. - Edmond, Okla./Edmond Memorial) scored back-to-back goals five minutes apart to start the second period, giving UW-Eau Claire a 3-1 advantage. The Falcons answered with two goals of their own in a 90-second span to tie the game again before Eli Reimer (So. - Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge) and Max Dronen (Fr. - Moorhead, Minn.) scored 50 seconds apart later in the period to make it 5-3.
- UW-River Falls pulled a goal back with just over three and a half minutes remaining in the second period, but Szmul struck for his second goal of the night on a power play with 65 seconds left until the second intermission. The Blugolds led 6-4 entering the third period.
- Kade Peterson (So. - West Fargo, N.D./Northstar Christian Academy) finished off the scoring for UW-Eau Claire early in the third period with a power-play goal. The Falcons scored one more time later in the game, but couldn't come all the way back.
- Colin Stein (Sr. - Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial), Jadon Reimer (So. - Lansing, Mich./Grand Ledge), Trenten Heyde (Jr. - Atlanta, Ga./Grayson), Tyler Herzberg (So. - Germantown, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) and Dayne Hoyord (So. - Scandinavia, Wis./Stevens Point) all tallied two assists apiece.
- Max Gutjahr (Jr. - Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) made 22 saves in net.
- The Blugolds leaped UW-River Falls in the WIAC standings with the win. UW-Eau Claire now has 22 points, two ahead of the Falcons' 20.
UP NEXT
The Blugolds wrap up the regular season with a two-game series against UW-Stout on February 14-15. Both games are at Hobbs Ice Arena with a 7 p.m. puck drop.
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