By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The third period was not kind to the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team over the weekend.
Just a day after giving up four third-period goals in a 7-0 loss to UW-Superior, 12th-ranked UW-Eau Claire equaled that feat, scoring four times in the game's final 20 minutes — breaking a 1-1 tie and leading the Blugolds to a 5-2 nonconference victory over the Cardinals at Hobbs Ice Center Saturday evening.
The Cardinals and Blugolds took different paths to the same end result over the game's opening 20 minutes, as UW-Eau Claire scored just 31 seconds into the opening period, while Saint Mary's waited until the 17:16 mark before getting on the scoreboard on a goal by
Sam Schultz (Lakeland, Minn.) — the first of his collegiate career — to knot the game at 1-1.
After a scoreless second period, the Blugolds turned up the offensive heat, breaking the stalemate just 1:42 into the final frame, and Jake Bresser, Nathan Dingmann, and Adam Parsells all scored in a span of 1:10 to push the UW-Eau Claire lead to 5-1.
Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) stopped the Blugolds' third-period run with his first of the season — off an assist from brother
Jack Stang — at 12:59, but that would be as close as the Cardinals would get.
Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) finished with 25 saves in goal for Saint Mary's, while
Parker Swanson stopped all seven shots he faced in 10 minutes of relief. UW-Eau Claire's Riley McVeigh kicked out 13 of the Cardinals' 15 shots.
The Cardinals (0-4-0 overall) kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, traveling to the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn., for a pair of games against Concordia. The Cardinals and Cobbers will square off at 7 p.m. Friday evening, before going at it again Saturday at 2 p.m. The Blugolds (2-0-1 overall), meanwhile, hit the road for the first time this season next weekend. UW-Eau Claire heads to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:05 nonconference matchup against Gustavus, before traveling to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., to take on Augsburg at 7 p.m. the following evening.
