UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey closed out its regular season with a pair of losses to UW-Stout this weekend, falling 2-1 on Friday before dropping Saturday’s finale 2-3.
The game remained close throughout Friday’s match. Both teams attempted shots in the first period with Blue Devils goalie Sebastian Monaco blocking attempts from second-year forward Easton Inglis and third-year forward Dayne Hoyord.
At 14:58 in the first period, the Blue Devils’ Tristan Therrien scored the first goal of the match, ending the period with the Blugolds trailing 1-0.
In the second period, fourth-year forward Leo Bacallao scored at 13:55 with assists from third-year forward Kade Peterson and fourth-year defender Max Ruoho.
Bacallao said it was good to be able to score at such a pivotal moment and tie up the game for the Blugolds.
“It was a great pass,” Bacallao said. “[Peterson] got on his backhand, zipped it across and I just got a touch on it. I saw I had a good amount of space in the slot, I saw the goalie and I just ripped it … It felt good due to the fact that we tied the game up then and there.”
The Blue Devils netted the eventual game-winning goal shortly after in the second period, and the match ended in a 2-1 loss for the Blugolds.
In Saturday’s match, a first-period Hoyord goal put the Blugolds in the lead before the Blue Devils tied it up with only 56 seconds remaining in the period.
The Blue Devils extended their lead 3-1 in the second period, but another goal from Hoyord brought the score up to 2-3 at 19:03.
The Blugolds continued to fight offensively in the third period, but pivotal saves from Monaco prevented them from scoring.
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Blugolds will advance to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) playoffs as the No. 2 seed.
Head Coach Matt Loen said he feels happy with the Blugolds’ performance this season and is hopeful for the playoffs.
“I’d say it was a pretty good season, considering we have 17 underclassmen,” Loen said. “It was a great, great group of guys, but I think the work starts now.”
Loen said that the team did particularly well at sticking together and maintaining good attitudes throughout the season.
“[We have] a pretty positive group, good team leadership and culture,” Loen said. “So, hopefully that will continue here down the stretch of the playoffs.”
Bacallao said that while the season got off to a slow start, the Blugolds were able to regroup and establish themselves as a top contender.
“Once we figured out our identity of speed and playing hard, it really came together,” Bacallao said. “The coaches did the right thing, establishing how fast we can be, how quick and how good we are … It just seems like the season went pretty well.”
The Blugolds will play UW-River Falls at 7 p.m. on Sat., Feb 28 at Hobbs Ice Arena.
Garrison can be reached at [email protected]
