ST. PETER, Minn. (Blugolds.com) - A dramatic goal in the waning seconds of the game pushed the UW-Eau Claire men's hockey team to a 4-3 win over 8th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.). The Blugolds are a perfect 2-0 on the season.
Whereas the first period ended goalless, the second period brought a scoring frenzy for both teams. The Golden Gusties went up 2-0 with a goal just 25 seconds into the period and another four minutes later.
Not to be outdone, the Blugolds rallied to drive in three goals in just over six minutes to take the lead 3-2. Jordan Singer (So.-Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) –assisted by Kurt Weston (So.-Roseau, Minn.) – gave Eau Claire the first goal of the night by capitalizing on a power play at the 8:27 mark. Just over two minutes later, Tyler Romasco (Jr.-Perry, Ohio) added another to the Blugold total and Jimmy McCusker (Fr.-Novi, Mich./Novi ) knocked in the go-ahead goal at the 14:32 mark.
The Blugold lead was shortlived as the Gusties found the back of the Eau Claire net 3:05 into the third period and made it a 3-3 game. As the seconds ticked off the clock, the teams remained deadlocked until Eau Claire made a final minute dash for the Gustavus net.
With just 14 seconds remaining, a shot from Andrew Wilcox (Jr.-Rochester, Minn./Century) – assisted by Singer – made its way through a crowd in front of the net and gave the Blugolds the dramatic 4-3 victory.
Total shots for the teams were fairly even, with Eau Claire just topping Gustavus 34-33. Brandon Stephenson (So.-Saline, Mich.) guarded the Blugold net the entire 60 minutes and made 30 saves en route to the win.
Tomorrow night, the Blugolds look to continue their winning season during a game against Augsburg College (Minn.). The away game is set to begin at 7 p.m.
