Justin Dade – Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The No. 13 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team skated to a draw with the St. John's University Johnnies 3-3 on Friday at Hobbs Ice Arena.
The Blugolds returned home to began another weekend of play with MIAC opponents starting with this contest with the Johnnies. UW-Eau Claire failed to finish with the win in regulation for the third consecutive game.
UW-Eau Claire dominated the first period in terms of puck possession using quick, crisp passes. The Blugolds started the game with a quick 7-0 shots-on-goal advantage and held the Johnnies without a shot on goal for the first eight minutes of the period.
The Blugolds killed off two St. John's power plays in a row midway through the period, and the Blugolds got a power play of their own right after returning to full strength, but were unable to capitalize.
With just 12 seconds left in the period, St. John's forward Huba Sekesi ripped a shot from the blue line that ricocheted right to an open Matt Colford in front of the net who buried it home to steal a 1-0 advantage for the Johnnies despite being outplayed for a majority of the period.
The Blugolds led in shots on goal 11-5 and trailed in face-off wins 7-4 after one period of play.
The Johnnies came out in the second period strong and extended their lead on a Brady Heppner goal just two minutes into the frame giving them a 2-0 lead.
The Blugolds were finally able to capitalize on a scoring opportunity as Patrick Moore (Sr. – Grand Rapids, MN) cleaned up loose change in front of the net to cut into the St. John's lead. Moore's second goal of the year was assisted by Scott Munro (Fr. – Vancouver, British Columbia) and Mac Jansen (Jr. – White Bear Lake, MN) with 10:05 left in the period.
After two roughing penalties made it four-on-four hockey, Jansen got a beautiful pass from Moore on the blue line and the junior forward buried it past Johnnies' goalie Tyler Nelson to tie it up 2-2 with 8:21 left in the period. Lucas Kohls (Jr. – Forest Lake, MN) was also credited with his fifth assist of the year on the Jansen goal.
The Blugolds found the back of the net yet again with 1:29 left in the period on a goal scored by Todd Koritzinsky (Jr. – Verona, WI) assisted by Lucas Kohls (Jr. – Forest Lake, MN) and Munro to give them their first lead of the night.
Despite being down 2-0 into the middle portion of the second period, the Blugolds' offense erased the deficit behind another strong skating period outshooting the Johnnies 13-7 in the period to give them a 24-12 lead after two periods of play.
After a quiet start to the period for both teams in the third, the Johnnies tied things up late in the period on a perfectly placed shot from Joey Lindberg to tie the game up at three.
This one needed five extra minutes as the Blugolds entered their third straight overtime game. Both teams produced a few solid scoring chances in the extra frame, but were unable to find the deciding goal as the score held at 3-3 as time expired.
UW-Eau Claire finished with a huge 41-20 advantage in shots on goal.
Goaltender Jay Deo (Sr. - Langley, British Columbia) started his fifth consecutive game and surrendered the three goals while making 17 saves on 20 shots on goal. Deo's record now stands at 2-1-2.
Jansen continued his hot start to the season with this two-point night (1 goal, 1 assist) to improve his team leading total of eight points for the year (4 goals, 4 assists).
The Blugolds (2-1-2) will look to return to the win column as they take the ice again tomorrow night in a matchup with Concordia-Moorhead. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Arena.
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