RIVER FALLS, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey had a strong start to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Semifinals (presented by Culver's) on Friday night, taking down UW-River Falls 3-2 in overtime.
Ty Readman (Sr. – Edmonton, Alberta/Vimy Ridge Academy) had his hand in all three Blugold goals, recording two goals – including the game-winner – and one assist on the night.
Eau Claire got on the board early, with Sammy Martel (So. – Bolingbrook, IL/Neuqua Valley) scoring at 1:11 in the first with Readman and Ryan Green (So. – Muskego, WI) getting assists on the game's first goal.
River Falls would respond with a goal at 12:36 to tie things up at one and late in the second, would pull ahead with a goal at 17:30, taking a 2-1 lead heading into the third period.
Readman would get the equalizer at the 12:18 mark of the third frame with assists from Colin Stein (Fr. – Pewaukee, WI/Catholic Memorial) and Martel. Eau Claire would put three more shots on goal before the buzzer but would not be able to get one past Falcon goaltender Dysen Skinner.
In overtime, the Blugolds continued to put on the pressure and Readman would come through in the clutch once again, getting the game-winning goal at 3:28, his 10th goal of the season and sixth game-winner.
Blugold netminder Ryan Ouellette (Fr. – Colorado Springs, CO/Liberty) earned the win in goal, recording 18 saves and is now 15-6-1 on the season.
With the win, Eau Claire improves to 16-11-1 on the season. The Blugolds and Falcons (13-12-1) will face off for game two of the semifinals on Saturday night at 7 PM at Hunt Arena in River Falls.
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