The UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey team suffered two disappointing losses over the weekend when it traveled to play UW-Stout and UW-River Falls.
Against River Falls Friday, junior Jamie Minor scored in the first period off an assist from freshman Mike Lucenti to take an early one-goal lead at the 3:26 mark.
River Falls then scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead going into the second intermission.
The Falcons saved their best for last, though, scoring five goals in the final period, three of which were in the first seven minutes. The Falcons beat the Blugolds 7-1. River Falls improved its season mark to 13-9-1.
“We were real excited to play the third period,” coach Marlin Muylaert said. “We just couldn’t put anything together.”
The ’Golds also got off to a good start Saturday against UW-Stout as they scored first off a goal by sophomore Justin Kaufenberg at the 6:18 mark of the first period.
Stout’s Bluedevils were not to be denied as they outscored the Blugolds 2-1 in each of the three periods.
Freshman Kuzma Kurakin scored in the second period after catching a pass that came off the stick of junior Erik Strand. Senior Troy Goodweiler scored an unassisted goal in the third period, which proved to be too little too late as the Blugolds were defeated, 6-3.
“These were two tough, disappointing games for our team,” Muylaert said. “The team feels very snake-bitten right now. Sometimes your team gets in those ruts where you just can’t get the puck away from your net.”
“We knew we had to win both games to get fifth (place) in the NCHA,” said sophomore Justin Kaufenberg. “Home ice advantage is now out of the picture. We can only have a great week of practice this week and look to gather some momentum as we go into the playoffs.”
The Blugolds couldn’t convert on a single power play over the weekend, going 0-3 on Friday and 0-4 on Saturday.
The Blugolds lost their starting goalie, junior Jon Walker to a season-ending groin injury.
Sophomore Scott Sutton played the final 42 minutes of the game and faced 33 River Fall shots. Sutton also had 32 saves against Stout Saturday.
Sophomore Matt Plummer also is done for the season with a neck injury he suffered Saturday against Stout.
“We’ve had guys play hurt all year,” Muylaert said. “We’ve been learning how to play through things all season.”
The Blugolds now hold a 9-14 overall record, and 3-9 in the NCHA.
They will look to take revenge this Friday and Saturday as they host both Stout and River Falls at Hobbs Ice Center.