By Justin Dade - Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The No. 13 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team defeated the Hamline University Pipers 7-0 in the second game of the Blugolds' home opening weekend on Saturday night at Hobbs Ice Center.
UW-Eau Claire added another dominant win to their resume in game two of their first two home games of the season behind an offensive explosion and the first career shutout for goaltender Camden Haugenoe (Fr. – Williston, ND).
UW-Eau Claire started fast for the second straight night with crisp passes despite a few lineup changes from the previous evening.
A penalty to Tommy Hall gave the Blugolds a power-play opportunity that would not be wasted. Captain Jake Hopfner (Sr. – Eastpointe, MI) netted his third goal of the season on a beautiful set piece assisted by Jesse Tredinnick (Sr. – Onalaska, WI) and Adam Kleven (So. – Peoria, AZ).
Tyler Tomberlin (So. – St. Paul, MN) added another after he weaved through the Piper defense and place a beautiful backhand shot over the shoulder of goaltender Justin Quale to make it 2-0. The lone assist went to defenseman Austin Redders (Fr. – McFarland, WI).
Eau Claire's own Jake Bresser (So. – Eau Claire, WI) poured it on with a nifty goal of his own unassisted a few minutes later to make it 3-0 with 6:22 left in the opening period.
The Blugolds held a commanding lead in shots on goal (16-6) and faceoff wins after one period of play.
The theme of fast starts to begin periods continued early in the second with help from a Piper penalty that carried over from the first frame.
Nathan Dingmann (Fr. – Plymouth, WI) tallied his first collegiate goal on yet another brilliant set piece on the power play to make it 4-0 just 48 seconds into the period. Alex Strand (So. – Roseau, MN) was credited with the lone assist on the goal.
The Blugolds would add three more goals in the final period scored by Mac Jansen (Sr. – White Bear Lake, MN), Tredinnick, and Kyle Lee (Sr. – Wausau, WI) to put the finishing touches on the dominant win.
Despite hitting the box nine more times tonight to bring the total to 39 through just four games, the Blugold penalty kill remained hot killing off all five Hamline power plays on the night. UW-Eau Claire's penalty kill percentage is now over 93 percent for the season. The power play continued to improve for the Blugolds in this one scoring twice on their three opportunities. The three power play goals over the weekend improves their scoring percentage with the man advantage up to 20 percent.
Defenseman Johnny Mueller (Jr. – St. Peters, MO) skated well on the back end again in this one and complied a strong +4 rating for the night.
Haugenoe made his fourth consecutive start in net for the Blugolds and collected his first collegiate shutout to improve to 3-1 on the season saving all 16 shots he faced. Through four games, the freshman maintains a 1.49 goals allowed average and a save percentage of .935.
The Blugolds (3-1-0) will look to use this weekend as momentum as they head on the road next week. First up will be a tilt with St. Thomas on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Follow all the action on Blugold Game Day.
