The Gustavus Men’s Hockey team was defeated by UW-Eau Claire 5-2 on Friday night. Senior forward Jason Watters and first year forward Ben Ollila were the goalscorers for Gustavus, while sophomore forward Steve Jensen assisted on both goals. With the loss, the Gusties fall to 0-3-0 on the season, while the Blugolds improve their record to 2-3-0.
The Gusties outshot the Blugolds 31-19 in the game, but were unable to capitalize on their attempts because of stingy goaltending by UW-Eau Claire senior goalkeeper Steffan Braunlich, who recorded 29 saves. Senior forward Ben Manny opened the game for the Blugolds with a goal at 7:33 in the first period, followed by a power play goal by Gustavus’ Jason Watters less than a minute later. Eau Claire, however, would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game, securing the victory with two goals by sophomore forward Dave Coleman and one goal apiece from first year defenseman Matt Finley and sophomore forward Brooks Lockwood. First year goalkeeper Scott Mickelson recorded 14 saves for the Gusties in the net.
Gustavus will be looking for their first win of the season on Saturday against UW-Stevens Point. The game is scheduled to start at 7:05 pm at Don Roberts Ice Rink.