Blugolds blank Yellowjackets

Box Score

Eau Claire 3, Yellowjackets 0

The emotion from last Saturday's overtime win didn't carry over to Friday for the Yellowjacket men's hockey team, as they took on the defending national champions from UW-Eau Claire.

The Blugolds entered the game as one of the stingiest teams in the nation, having earlier in the year set the NCAA Division III record for consecutive shutouts by going nearly six full games without allowing a goal. They came into the game with shutouts in six of their last nine outings.

Make it seven out of ten.

Eau Claire took it to the Yellowjackets in the second period, outshooting them 21-9 and scoring twice on their way to a 3-0 win at the Hobbs Ice Center in Eau Claire.

The eventual game-winning goal came at 14:50 of the first period when Jon Waggoner took a shot from the left circle that was blocked. He picked up his own rebound and slid a backhand home for his tenth of the year to make it 1-0.

At 10:10 of the second it went to 2-0 as Jack Callahan, in a goal similar to the first, had his initial shot stopped, only to pick up his own rebound and push it past Dayn Belfour (Morden, Manitoba/Morden Collegiate) for his fourth of the year. A few minutes later it went to 3-0. Ross Andersen stickhandled his way out of the right corner, split the Yellowjacket defense and put a shot on net that Belfour stopped, but Patrick Moore buried the rebound, scoring his seventh of the year to make it 3-0 at 13:08.

In the closing minutes of the second Brad Phenow (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) was driven hard into the boards by Waggoner, who was assessed a five-minute major for cross checking, giving the Yellowjackets a golden opportunity to get back into the game. They couldn't take advantage of the opportunity, however, and didn't get a shot on goal on the power play until there was under a minute left.

The Yellowjackets outshot the Blugolds in the third period, but most of those shots came from the perimeter and didn't pose much of a threat to goaltender Tyler Green, who earned his fifth shutout of the year in the game. Green finished with 30 saves. At the other end Belfour was tagged with the loss, making 40 saves.

Eau Claire took five penalties for 13 minutes on the night, while the Yellowjackets took seven for 17 minutes. In the final minute of the game Michael Rey (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Garden City Collegiate) was called for a five minute major for cross checking, contributing to the inflated penalty minute total for the Yellowjackets.

Both teams went scoreless on the power play. The Yellowjackets were 0-for-5, while the Blugolds were 0-for-6.

The Yellowjackets (7-12-3, 2-5-2 WIAC) will look to gain the series split when the teams meet again at the Hobbs Ice Center on Saturday night. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and can be heard live on 91.3 FM KUWS, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. If you are outside the local listening area you can listen online through the iFan Sports Network or the KUWS web site. Jon Garver will have the call.

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