EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — For the first time since 2013, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team will play in the NCAA Tournament. The Blugolds clinched their spot in the NCAA field by defeating UW-River Falls 2-0 to clinch the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Commissioner's Cup and the automatic NCAA bid that comes with it on Saturday night at Hobbs Ice Arena.
With the victory, the Blugolds earned their first conference tournament title since 2022. It's UW-Eau Claire's fifth conference tournament title, which is tied for the most in the WIAC's history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Blugolds (14-15-1) took the lead midway through the first period and never looked back on Saturday.
- Kyler Grundy (Sr. - Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail) scored what proved to be the game-winner with just over 11 minutes left in the opening period. It came off an assist from Kyle Oleksiuk (Sr. - Winnipeg, Manitoba), who had scored the game-winning goal in triple overtime during the Blugolds' minigame win to get past UW-Stevens Point in the WIAC Tournament semifinals last week.
- The Blugolds added an empty-net goal with 14 seconds remaining in the third period. Trenten Heyde (Jr. - Atlanta, Ga./Grayson) scored on the empty net to ice away the Commissioner's Cup title.
- Max Gutjahr (Jr. - Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) was superb in net to earn the shutout. He saved 39 shots, a season high. That included 17 saves in the second period.
- UW-River Falls held a 39-24 advantage in shots. Both teams went 0 for 1 on the power play.
UP NEXT
UW-Eau Claire will learn its first-round opponent for the NCAA Tournament
when the field is announced Monday, March 10, at 9 a.m.
The Blugolds have now won six of their last eight contests heading into the NCAA Tournament. UW-Eau Claire was selected to the NCAA Tournament field in 2020, but never got to play before the event was canceled due to COVID-19. They will be making their first appearance in the tournament since 2013, when they won the national championship.
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