By Justin Dade - Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin - (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team defeated the UW-Stout Blue Devils 4-1 on Friday night at Hobbs Ice Center in Game 1 of the WIAC Tournament semifinals (presented by Culver's).
The No. 2 Blugolds hosted the No. 3 Blue Devils for the first of a two-game series and cruised to the 4-1 victory thanks to a hefty shot load and strong special teams play. UW-Eau Claire outshot the Blue Devils 42-26 on the night, killed off all four UW-Stout power plays and converted on half of their chances with the man advantage.
Kyle Sylvester stunned a packed home crowd with an early breakaway goal created off a stretch pass from Mathias Ahman to give the Blue Devils an early 1-0 lead with just over three minutes gone in the opening period.
The Blugolds would get a much-needed response four minutes later on a 2-on-1 breakaway that saw Colton Wolter (Sr. – Fairbanks, AK) deliver a fantastic pass to brother Jacob Wolter (Sr. – Fairbanks, AK) who buried the puck past Tommi Ahlgren on the backhand to make it 1-1.
UW-Eau Claire would hold a slight 11-9 lead in shots after one period.
The Blugolds would separate themselves in the second period, outshooting UW-Stout 23-6 and adding two goals from Johnny Mueller (Jr. - St. Peters, MO) and C. Wolter to make it 3-1 after two periods.
Zach Kennedy (Fr. – Eagle River, WI) collected his first collegiate goal in the third period finishing off his own rebound in front of the net to make it 4-1 with 9:22 left to go in the game.
The Blugolds would hang on to the three-goal lead and win 4-1.
Goaltender Zach Dyment (Fr. - Abbotsford, BC) made his 13th straight start in net for UW-Eau Claire and saved 25 of the 26 shots he saw on the night in the win to head to 8-4-1.
The Blugolds will now return to Hobbs for Game 2 of the semifinals against UW-Stout tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. for a spot in the WIAC title game.
Follow all the action on Blugold Game Day.
