Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's hockey team achieved a significant victory in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) by defeating UW-River Falls 7-5 at Hunt Arena. This win elevated the Blugolds to third place in the WIAC standings.

UW-Eau Claire, with a record of 9-13-1 overall and 7-6-0 in conference play, took control during the second period after ending the first tied at 1-1. UW-River Falls initially led early in the game, but Danny Reis equalized for the Blugolds towards the end of the first period.

Connor Szmul and Will Brenner contributed back-to-back goals within five minutes to give UW-Eau Claire a 3-1 lead. The Falcons quickly responded with two goals to tie again before Eli Reimer and Max Dronen scored just seconds apart, making it 5-3 for Eau Claire. Although River Falls narrowed the gap late in the second period, Szmul netted his second goal on a power play shortly before intermission, putting Eau Claire ahead 6-4.

In the third period, Kade Peterson added another power-play goal for Eau Claire. Despite one more goal from River Falls, they could not overcome their deficit.

Several players made notable contributions: Colin Stein, Jadon Reimer, Trenten Heyde, Tyler Herzberg, and Dayne Hoyord each recorded two assists. Goalie Max Gutjahr made 22 saves.

With this victory, UW-Eau Claire surpassed UW-River Falls in conference standings by accumulating 22 points compared to River Falls' 20.

The Blugolds will conclude their regular season with a two-game series against UW-Stout on February 14th and 15th at Hobbs Ice Arena.

###