APPLETON, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The 10th-ranked UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team shut down Lawrence University tonight, defeating the Vikings 5-0 to end the first half of the season at Appleton Ice Center.
Joe Krause (Jr.-Hermantown, Minn.) was a part of three Blugold goals, scoring twice while picking up an assist on another. He scored the Blugolds' first goal, which eventually proved to be the game-winner, at 12:56 in the first period, then added another at 9:04 in the second period.
In the final period, the Blugolds continued to increase their lead, scoring three more times.
Preston Hodge (Fr.-Normal, Ill./Oregon) had the first goal at 2:59 and Jon Waggoner (Sr.-Fairbanks, Alaska/Lathrop) followed with one less than two minutes on a power-play. With just 10 seconds left in the game, Charles Thauwald (So.-Rochester, Minn./Mayo) gave the Blugolds their fifth and final goal of the night, also on a power-play.
Jack Callahan (Jr.-Red Bank, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) led the Blugolds in assists with three while Jeff Pauluk (So.-Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Ethan Nauman (So.-Mosinee, Wis.) each had two.
Playing all but 22 seconds in-goal, Jay Deo (Fr.-Langley, British Columbia) stopped all 14 Lawrence shots. The Blugolds finished with a total of 38 shots.
The Blugolds went 2-for-6 on the power-play while the Vikings finished 0-for-2.
Eau Claire is now 7-3-1 overall while Lawrence drops to 4-8-1.
The Blugolds will be back in action in January with six straight games at home. They will open the new year with a game against Augsburg College (Minn.) on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Center.
-KM-