EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team began their quest for the Commissioner's Cup on Friday night as they hosted UW-Superior. A big second period by the Blugolds found them with a lead heading into the third period. Dawson Klein (So. – Lakeville, Minn./South) was the hero on the night as Klein tallied his fourth goal of the year I overtime, giving UWEC the 6-5 win.
The Blugolds and Yellowjackets battled hard all evening as the two squads looked to open the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Semifinals series with a win. A fast-paced opening period saw UWEC hold the advantage in the shot department as Eau Claire outshot Superior, 6-9. Despite leading in the shots category, UW-Superior found the game's opening tally in the final minutes of the frame to give Eau Claire a one goal deficit at the first intermission.
The second period held a momentum shift for UW-Eau Claire as Leo Bacallao (Fr. – Madison, Wis./Vel Phillips Memorial) found Eau Claire's first goal just minutes into the second period. Colin Stein (So. – Pewaukee, Wis./Catholic Memorial) earned the Blugolds their first lead of the evening just minutes later a shot from the point to make it 2-1.
Later in the second period, Aaron Swanson (Jr. – Sun Prairie, Wis./East) found space on the right side of the ice and wristed the puck into the top right corner past the Yellowjacket netminder to increase Eau Claire's lead to 3-1. UW-Superior ended the period with an answer of their own during 4-on-4 play to bring it back to a one goal game heading into the second intermission.
Jack Johnston (Jr. – St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy & Summit School) found a fortunate bounce early in the third period as the Superior goalie attempted to clear the puck. The clearance hit Johnston in the pants and deflected back into the net to regain the two-goal lead for UWEC at the 30 second mark of the frame. Superior and Eau Claire exchanged goals just minutes later as Ryan Green (Jr. – Muskego, Wis.) capitalized on a 2-on-1 with Ty Readman (Sr. – Edmonton, Alberta/Vimy Ridge Academy) to give the Blugolds a 5-3 lead with 15 minutes left. Superior tied the game up with goals at the 11:54 and 16:26 marks to force game one to go to overtime.
Dawson Klein (So. – Lakeville, Minn./South) found his game one winner just under two minutes into the extra period on a shot from the point that weaved through traffic and beat the Superior netminder up high to give UWEC a 6-5 win and a 1-0 series lead.
Max Gutjahr (Fr. – Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) stopped 32 of the 37 saves he face to earn his first WIAC playoff victory of the season. Gutjahr improves to 16-8-1 on the year.
The Blugolds (17-8-1, WIAC 9-5-1) and Yellowjackets with faceoff tomorrow, Saturday, February 25th at Hobbs Ice Arena for game two of the WIAC semifinal. Puck drop is scheduled for 7PM.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
