Two things are constant in the Twin Ports of Superior and Duluth- the weather and the hockey. It is usually cold up there and the hockey teams usually win.

This past weekend the Blugold men’s hockey squad traveled to the big lake for games with UW-Superior and St. Scholastica (Minn.).

The outcomes for the ‘Golds proved to be like the harsh northern Wisconsin and Minnesota winters – bad.

The Saints from Scholastica handed the men a 4-2 loss Friday night at the Mars Lakeview Arena.

Friday’s game saw both teams skate to a scoreless first period. In the second game however, the offensive units came alive. Eau Claire drew first blood when sophomore Greg Harris took passes from junior Chris Hunter and senior Ian Sgambelluri to give the Blugolds a 1-0 lead.

Eau Claire only held the momentum for a short while as the Saints went on a spree of three unanswered goals.

Senior Matt Gehr shrunk the Scholastica lead to one with his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

That’s as close as Eau Claire would get. Superior added another goal for insurance bringing the final to 4-2.

The Blugolds outshot The Saints 40-36 but were able to convert on only one of the five power play opportunities they had.

“Really, with Scholastica, we couldn’t finish our chances,” senior defenseman Justin Kaufenberg said. “Forty shots on goal should be enough to win.”

Saturday night the ‘Golds traveled across the bay to battle the second-place team in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, UW-Superior. This was the final regular season game of the season for both teams.

Like the Scholastica game, both teams skated to a scoreless tie in a defense-dominated first period. The Yellowjackets and the ‘Golds managed only 14 total shots on goal for the period.

The Yellowjackets got on the board first just 2:53 into the second though Sgambelluri tied the game at 1-1 13 seconds later.

Four minutes after the Sgambellri goal, Gehr popped one to give the Blugolds a 2-1 lead. Superior responded shortly after on the power play to tie the game once again. Eau Claire countered the tie once again with a power play offering of its own off Harris’ stick.

The teams entered the locker rooms in the second intermission with the Blugolds holding a 3-2 lead.

“We felt like we were owning them pretty well,” Kaufenberg said

That would not last long. Superior came to life in the third, firing 17 shots on Nelson and totaling 4 goals for the 6-3 victory. Eau Claire only had 2 shots on the Yellowjackets’ goalie during the final period.

“To have a team that highly ranked by the ropes and lose is heartbreaking,” Harris said.

The Blugolds finished the regular season at 1-20-2 overall and 1-11-1 in the NCHA. The lone Eau Claire win came on Nov. 2 against UW-Stout.

None of this matters now though, with the NCHA playoffs starting this weekend. Since Eau Claire finished in last place, it will play the regular season champions, St. Norbert, in De Pere. St. Norbert ended the regular season with an impressive 22-1-2 overall record.

“We got plenty of respect for (St.) Norbert,” Kaufenberg said. “We’ve got to be an opportunistic team and be tough on defense.”

Harris shared Kaufenberg’s sentiments though he said, “anything’s possible.”