EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) — Occasionally the final score can be deceiving to what actually happened in a game. For the UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team and Northland College, who were meeting for the first time ever, that was the case despite the 5-0 win for the Blugolds at Hobbs Ice Center.
After outshooting Augsburg (Minn.) 48-20 Tuesday night, the Blugolds (9-3-1) were even more dominant Friday night, outshooting Northland (2-12-0) 61-17. The five-goal margin was actually closer than the play dictated throughout the game.
Patrick Moore (Fr.-Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) kicked off the scoring at 12:09 of the first period. Jack Callahan (Jr.-Red Bank, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) assisted on the only goal of the period.
Just 30 seconds into the second period, Daniel Olszewski (Sr.-Janesville, Wis./Craig) sniped the Northland goalie glove-side to give UW-Eau Claire a 2-0 lead. Jeff Pauluk (So.-Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and David Donnellan (Sr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) picked up helpers on the goal.
At 8:02 of the second period, Adam Knochenmus (Fr.-Roseau, Minn./Roseau) scored his first collegiate goal on a nifty move on a breakaway to beat the Northland goalie in the five-hole. Olszewski and Charles Thauwald (So.-Rochester, Minn./Mayo) assisted on the goal to give the Blugolds a 3-0 lead.
Despite a 43-12 advantage in shots, the Blugolds led just 3-0 after two periods. But in the third period, they got two more goals to pull away from the Lumberjacks. At 11:43, Mark Pustin (Sr.-Northridge, Cal./Granada Hills) scored his first goal of the season on a rebound. A few minutes later, at 14:33, Ethan Nauman (So.-Mosinee, Wis./Mosinee) beat the Northland goalie with a backhand for the 5-0 lead.
Tyler Green (So.-Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) made 17 saves to pick up his second straight shutout.
There were just two penalties in the game, both on the Blugolds. But Northland could not capitalize with the man-advantage against the aggressive Blugold penalty kill.
The win improves the Blugolds' record to 9-3-1 and 2-0 in the second half of the season. They will look to continue their strong play Saturday night against Lawrence University. UW-Eau Claire won at Lawrence earlier this season 5-0. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Center.
-JM-