The UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey team lost both of its games this weekend when it faced UW-Stevens Point at home and St. Norbert on the road.

Junior forward Kurt Weston said it was especially rough to lose on both days because, while the team had been previously tied in fourth place with UW-Stevens Point in the conference rankings, the Blugolds will now slip behind the Pointers.

However, Weston said he thought his team put up a good fight.

“We had our moments where we played really well, then we had a downfall both days,” Weston said. “It was a roller coaster of a weekend to go up and down like that.”

In Friday’s game at home, the Blugolds fell 5-2 to UW-Stevens Point after the Pointers scored three goals in the third period.

The Blugolds started out the first period out-shooting the Pointers, but ultimately, the Pointers scored the first goal of the evening.

The Blugolds and Pointers had a relatively even battle through the second period, with the Pointers scoring another goal at 5:15. Eau Claire followed up with a pair of goals scored by sophomore forward Brian Nehring and junior forward Jordan Singer tying up the game 2-2 before the second period was over.

Over the course of the game, junior goalie Brandon Stephenson made 32 saves.

But in the third, the Pointers netted three goals, the last of which was on an empty net.

Coach Matt Loen said he didn’t know what the reason was behind the team’s losses.

“I’m kind of frustrated,” Loen said. “We didn’t play that bad, but we just didn’t win. The other teams capitalized on some of our mistakes. That was the difference this weekend.”

On Saturday night, the men were on the road and faced St. Norbert in De Pere, where they ultimately lost 5-4.

The Green Knights took the first goal of the evening relatively quickly at 1:34 in the first period. The Blugolds fought back, and Weston scored an unassisted goal at 13:28. The Green Knights scored a second goal before the period was over, putting St. Norbert ahead 2-1.

The Blugolds kept a steady pace with the Green Knights and dominated the ice during the second period, scoring three goals.

Weston said that, for him, this was the highlight of the weekend.

“We totally controlled them in the second on Saturday, and they’re one of the top teams in our conference,” he said. “I mean, that was pretty amazing.”

In the third, however, the Knights took back the game, racking up two more goals.

Stephenson said the losses came at a rough time for the Blugolds.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” he said. “Going into it, it was our biggest week so far … It also puts us in a hole where we won’t have home-ice advantage for the playoff game.”

Despite not having home-ice advantage during the playoffs, Loen said that he doesn’t think that will harm the Blugolds’ performance.

“That doesn’t mean that a win’s out of reach by any means,” Loen said. “It’d be nice to be at home, but I think we’ll still be able to win on the road.”

Next weekend, the Blugolds will face UW-River Falls on the road and UW-Stout at home.