Justin Dade – Sports Information
ST. PETER, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey were unable to win their eighth consecutive game in a 2-2 draw with Gustavus Adolphus College on Saturday night at Don Roberts Ice Rink.
After a hard fought win the night before in St. Paul, the Blugolds held on to earn a tie with the Gusties in this one behind two goals from alternate captain Garret Clemment (Sr. – Wausau, WI).
Like the night before, the Blugolds would fall behind in the first period as the Gusties struck first on a goal scored by Joel Lindberg to make it 1-0 with 7:11 left in the opening period.
UW-Eau Claire would head into the first intermission down a goal while only recording five shots on net.
The second period was more of the same until Clemment got the Blugolds back into it on his first goal of the night at the 6:14 mark. Adam Knochenmus (Sr. – Roseau, MN) and Bryan Sinz (Sr. – Anchorage, AK) got the assists on Clemment's fifth goal of the season.
The lead was short lived, however, as the Gusties found the back of the net on the power play about four minutes later on a goal scored by Drew Aspinwall.
The Blugolds were outshot 16-10 in the second period and again trailed heading into the second intermission.
Clemment wasted little time in the final period, scoring his second goal of the night just under four minutes in. The goal tied things up at two apiece with the assists going to Patrick Moore (Sr. – Grand Rapids, MN) and Tyler Hart (So. – Woodbury, MN).
Despite eight total penalties after Clemment's second goal, neither team would be able to find the deciding goal as UW-Eau Claire headed to overtime for the second straight night.
The Blugolds killed off three penalties in the third period including a five-minute major.
UW-Eau Claire was the only team to record any shots on goal in the overtime period, but neither team was able to produce any late game heroics before time expired.
Despite the draw, the Blugolds have still not lost since early November.
Goaltender Jay Deo (Sr. - Langley, British Columbia) made his 13th straight start and saved 20 of the 24 shots he faced in the win to improve to 9-1-3 on the season.
The Blugolds (9-1-3) will now have the next two weeks off before returning to Eau Claire to take on Marian University on New Year's Eve.
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