Box Score Box Score

DULUTH, Minn. – Two first-period goals led the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds to a 5-2 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) victory over the St. Scholastica men's hockey team Saturday evening.

Eau Claire took an early lead against the Saints when Chris Heineman scored his first goal of the season 1:15 into the first period.

The Blugolds continued to hold the Saints through the first period at a 2-0 lead, out-shooting CSS 11-7.

Eau Claire snagged its third goal of the night 5:38 into the second period on the power-play.

The Saints finally got on the scoreboard, 11:53 into the period when senior #Neil Sauter# netted his second goal of the season on the power-play tally. The goal was assisted by junior #Carter Davis# and sophomore #Tyler Miller#.

Josh Singer scored the Blugolds' fourth goal of the night with two minutes left in the period once again on the power-play with an assist by Tyler Ramasco.

The 4-1 score held through the end of the second period and the Blugolds continued to outshoot the Saints 25-21.

Sophomore #Eric Kraft# slipped one past the UWEC defense on the power-play with an assist by Carter Davis (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan/Central Collegiate (Waywayseecappo-MJHL) ) with five minutes left for his third goal of the season.

CSS pulled goaltender junior #Brennan Poderzay# for an extra attacker with just seconds remaining in the third period, leaving Singer to score Eau Claire's fifth goal of the night on an empty net.

Goaltender Brennan Poderzay (Tower, Minn./Tower-Soudan HS (Pickering-OPJHL) ) made 29 saves for the Saints, but came away with the loss. Scott Pederson had 36 saves to earn the win for the Blugolds.

Overall St. Schlastica out-shot the Blugolds 38-34. The Saints finished with eight penalties for 16 minutes, while the Blugolds finished with nine penalties for 18. CSS finished 2-for-8 on power-play opportunities, and the Blugolds 2-for-7.

The Saints fall to an 8-10-1 (3-9-0 NCHA) on the season, while the Blugolds improve to 12-7-0 (6-6-0 NCHA).

Next weekend is the start of travel partner play in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA). The Saints will host the University of Wisconsin-Stout on Friday night and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday night. Both games start at 7:05 p.m. at Mars Lakeview Arena and can be seen live, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network, at csssaints.com.