The men’s hockey team fell short in the last two games of its regular season Friday and Saturday.

The Blugolds lost 4-3 Friday to UW-Stout and 3-1 to UW-River Falls Saturday.

“We knew we were going to have two tough games this season,” junior Erik Strand said. “They’ve both had really good seasons.”

Although the Blugolds outshot the Blue Devils and had fewer penalties, they fell one goal short of victory.

Against Stout, Blugold senior Troy Goodweiler scored first with only one minute, 38 seconds into the first period. Eau Claire then allowed the Blue Devils to score three unanswered goals in the first period.

“The first period really hurt us against Stout,” junior Jamie Minor said.

In the second period, Stout scored once more to leave the Blugolds with a three-goal deficit headed into the third period.

The Blugolds rallied in the third to score two more goals, the first of which came from Minor. The second came from freshman Matt Gehr on a power play.

“Good goaltending really made the difference for us,” Strand said. “Both teams had some huge saves.”

When the buzzer sounded, the Blugolds trailed 4-3.

The Blugolds lost their regular season finale to River Falls 3-1. The ‘Golds and Falcons split their two previous meetings, each winning one.

The Blugolds again outshot their opponent, but were unable to put the shots in the net.

River Falls scored once each period and junior Nick Tietjen scored in the closing minutes of the game to put the ‘Golds on the scoreboard.

The Blugolds will travel Friday to UW-Superior to play in the NCHA quarterfinals.

“We’re going to be firing on all cylinders,” Minor said. “The post season is a whole new season.”