EAU CLAIRE, Wis.: The Yellowjacket men's hockey team entered play this weekend one of the hotter teams in NCAA Division III. Unbeaten in nine games, sitting in first place in the WIAC, and ranked in the top ten, the Yellowjackets were that proverbial team that controlled its own destiny in conference play.
 
Two days later, things look a little bit different, and the games ahead now carry a little bit more urgency.
 
After falling 4-2 Friday, the Yellowjackets came out and played a much stronger game Saturday. Unfortunately, the result was the same.
 
UW-Eau Claire scored a goal in the first period and a goal in the third and their team defense did the rest, on the way to a 2-0 shutout of the Yellowjackets at the Hobbs Ice Center.
 
The Yellowjackets (12-4-3, 5-4-0 WIAC) entered the weekend with a two-point lead in the WIAC standings, but now find themselves two points behind the Blugolds. They are tied for second place with UW-Stevens Point, each team sitting with 11 points. The Yellowjackets currently own the tiebreaker with the Pointers based on their head-to-head win, and the two teams will square off twice in the next week, including a key match-up Thursday night at Wessman Arena.
 
As the first period unfolded shots were at a premium. The Yellowjackets got the first two and held Eau Claire off the sheet for the first eight minutes of the period. The teams combined for just 11 shots in the period, but it was the Blugolds who got the only goal.
 
Matt Stanton streaked down the right wing and the Yellowjackets lost track of him. Adam Parsells hit him with a pass and his shot beat goaltender Myles Hektor (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) at 12:37 to make it 1-0.
 
In the second period each team got significant time on the power play, but goaltending and penalty killers took center stage. Chad Lopez (Arlington, Texas/University of Texas) took a five-minute major for boarding, but the Yellowjackets killed it off. Later in the period the Yellowjackets got their turn on the five-minute power play. They got five shots on net during the advantage, but the Blugolds shut the door each time.
 
In the third period Eau Claire got an insurance goal when Andrew McGlynn hit Jake Bresser with a pass and he converted to make it 2-0 with 8:41 to play.
 
All Yellowjacket efforts the rest of the way were turned aside and the Blugolds completed the sweep.
 
Hektor was strong in net for the Yellowjackets, finishing with 21 saves. At the other end Zach Dyment earned his fourth shutout of the year by turning aside 25 shots.