By Justin Dade - Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The No. 6 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team defeated the Falcons of UW-River Falls 4-2 on Thursday night at Hobbs Ice Arena as they continue their dominance over WIAC rivals.
The Blugolds improved to 3-0 in conference play including a regular season sweep of the Falcons behind a strong offensive effort from Todd Koritzinsky (Jr. – Verona, WI) and Adam Knochenmus (Sr. – Roseau, MN).
UW-Eau Claire started this one strong with excessive zone time taking an early 3-0 lead in shots on goal in an otherwise slow paced first period that featured just 15 total shots on goal.
The Blugolds would make the most of one of their quality chances of the period as Bryan Sinz (Sr. – Anchorage, AK) fired a shot from the point that was deflected into the top right corner by Koritzinsky with 3:36 left in the first period to make it 1-0 in favor of the home team.
UW-Eau Claire would lead in both shots on goal (9-6) and face-off wins (13-9) after one period of play.
Just 1:28 into the second period Koritzinsky added his second goal of the evening on a rebound in front of the net assisted by Colton Wolter (Jr. – Fairbanks, AK) to make it 2-0.
For the second time in three games, the Blugolds would concede on themselves just 1:16 later as a pass from one defenseman to another went off a skate and ended up behind goaltender Jay Deo (Sr. – Langley, British Columbia) to cut the lead in half.
The Falcons would even things up at two apiece about 10 minutes later on a breakaway goal scored by Taylor Burden to make it 2-2 with 7:19 left to play in the middle frame.
A high-sticking penalty on UW-River Falls would give the Blugolds the first power play of the game. Knochenmus would find the back of the net with the man advantage on a nice set up play assisted by Colton Wolter and David Henry (Sr. – Foster City, CA) to make it 3-2 with six minutes left to play.
Despite some defensive breakdowns, the Blugolds would take the 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
This game was put on ice in a third period dominated by UW-Eau Claire. Patrick Moore (Sr. – Grand Rapids, MN) deflected a pretty pass from Knochenmus into the back of net for his 11th goal of the year to make it 4-2 with 15:05 left to play in the game.
The Blugolds would control the puck for a majority of the period to go on to win by the 4-2 score.
Deo had another solid game in net in his 18th-straight start of the season. The senior netminder saved 20 of the 22 River Falls' shots on goal to improve to 13-3-3 on the season.
The Blugolds (13-3-3) will now face a three-game road stint that begins tomorrow night. UW-Eau Claire will take on the defending National Champions of UW-Stevens Point tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. at KB Willett Arena in a top-10 matchup. With these two games coming back to back, the Blugolds will have the rest of the weekend off.
Follow all the action on Blugold Game Day.
