After trailing two periods to St. Mary’s University (Minn.), the UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey team was able to finish strong with a 6-4 win over the Cardinals Friday night.

The Blugolds scored first with sophomore DJ Clark finding the back of the net on a power play in the first period. St. Mary’s scored 14 seconds later and finished the period leading 3-1.

Despite scoring two goals in the second period, the Blugolds went into the break a goal behind St. Mary’s.

The Blugolds’ defense didn’t allow a score in the third period while the offense put in three more goals to seal the 6-4 win.

Heading into Saturday’s game against the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), senior Sean Garrity stressed that being consistent and playing the full 60 minutes was going to be the main goal for the team.

The Blugolds seemed to start off well in that direction, but faltered as the game went on.

The Blugolds jumped on the board early and led 3-1 by the end of the first period. However, they were unable to hold off their opponent, eventually losing 5-4.

Sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Brigl recorded 25 saves, with 11 saves in the first period, six in the second and eight in the third. The Blugolds were out-shot 30-28 in the game.

“In the games, we played well, played strong, and did nice on special teams,” Garrity said. “We just need to be ready to come out and play.”

Eau Claire hopes to do just that as it heads into Northern Collegiate Hockey Association conference play Friday, hosting Lake Forest College (Ill.) at Hobbs Ice Center at 7:30 p.m. Eau Claire will travel to Green Bay to take on St. Norbert for another conference match-up Saturday.