By Nick Hoven, UWEC Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey were tasked with WIAC (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) play on Saturday evening as they hosted the UW-Superior Yellowjackets. Going into the game, the Blugolds held the second-place spot in conference standings and looked to remain there with a key victory against the third-place Yellowjackets. After a slow start, the Blugolds bounced back in the final two frames to secure a 4-2 victory.
With a slow start in the first period and trailing after 20 minutes of play, Head Coach Matt Loen and company wasted no time getting back into gear. Just under two minutes into the middle period, Nathan Dingmann (So. – Plymotuh, MN/Wayzata) would bury a shot from the slot five-hole to tie the game at one.
Later in the period, the Blugolds would find themselves on a 5-on-3 powerplay for about one minute. It took the Blugolds just ten seconds to convert on the man advantage as Andrew McGlynn (Fr. – St. Louis, MO/Christian Brothers) would bury a rebound out front to give the Blugolds the lead. The shot, coming from the point, was wristed by Austin Redders (So. – McFarland, WI) who would get credit for an assist as well as Lucas Kohls (Sr. – Forest Lake, MN).
The final period of hockey was a bit more even as Eau Claire would keep things rolling just five minutes in. Andrew McGlynn would net his second of the game after going top shelf over the Superior goalie's glove to increase the lead to 3-1. The Yellowjackets would get one back with minutes to spare, but Jake Bresser (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Memorial) would seal the deal after blocking a shot and scoring on an empty net with almost less than a second remaining.
Zach Dyment (So. – Abbotsford, BC/Yale Secondary) earned his 18th victory on the year and his 26th as a Blugold after saving 26 of the 28 shots that he faced.
The Blugolds (18-3-2, 4-1-1 WIAC) will take an extended break as they will not play until Friday, February 8th when they travel to UW-Superior for another WIAC conference showdown. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day or on the 'UWEC Blugolds' app on your mobile device.
