Men’s Hockey Tops Auggies 3-2 to Remain Unbeaten

Men’s Hockey Tops Auggies 3-2 to Remain Unbeaten

By Justin Dade – UWEC Sports Information

Eau Claire, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team defeated the Augsburg College Auggies 3-2 on Saturday night at Hobbs Ice Arena.

Box Score

The Blugolds were able to stay undefeated on the season (3-0-1) under very strong goalie play from Jay Deo (Jr. – Langley, British Columbia) in his first start of the year.

The Blugolds struck first early in a very physical first period on a steal at the blue line by Mac Jansen (So. - White Bear Lake, MN) who found the back of the net on a breakaway unassisted for his second goal of the year.

The Auggies fought back with under five minutes left in the first period with a goal from Eli May to tie the game at one goal apiece. Augsburg also had the edge after one in face-offs 12-5.

In the second, the Blugolds grabbed the lead again two minutes and sixteen seconds into the period with a goal from Garret Clemment (Jr. – Wausau, WI) assisted by David Henry (Jr. - Foster City, CA) and captain Jeff Pauluk (Sr. – Bloomington, MN).

In similar fashion to the first period, the Auggies knotted the game back up on another goal from Eli May with 6:05 left in the second period.

Then in the third period, the Blugolds broke through again with the deciding goal from Henry on a hard play to the net assisted by Adam Knochenmus (Jr. – Roseau, MN).

The Auggies put a lot of pressure on late in the period by pulling their goalie, but the Blugolds held on in the end in a big win.

The Blugolds struggled in the face-off circle early in the game, but managed to finish in an even 39-39 split with the Auggies for the night. Eau Claire was outshot 35-24 and gave up another power play goal on the night, but still found a way to avoid the loss column.

Goaltender Jay Deo was huge for the Blugolds late in the game to secure the win with his 33 saves to get his first win of 2015 with 20 of those shots coming in the third period alone.

The Blugolds will be in action again next weekend first on Friday at Saint John's (Minn.), and then at Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) the following evening.