The UW- Eau Claire men’s hockey team beat UW- Stout in both meetings last weekend by scores of 4-0 and 3-1, respectively.

Junior forward Ross Andersen said after last weeks disappointing loss to UW-River Falls, the rest of the season would be extremely important since every remaining game is against a WIAC foe.

“Every point will count going forward in the next couple months,” Andersen said.

He capitalized early in the game and scored the first Blugold goal only 2:41 into the first period against the Blue Devils. Freshman forward Patrick Moore was credited with the assist.

Eau Claire added to the scoreboard when senior forward Jon Waggoner scored at 7:58 into the first for the 2-0 lead. Senior forwards Daniel Olszewski and Jared Williams got the assists.

As the second period began, Andersen scored his second goal of the night against the Blue Devils at 4:12. Junior defenseman Chris Heineman aided Andersen with the assist.

Andersen wasn’t only playing against the rival Blue Devils, he was playing against his brother.

Andersen said this was the first time that he had ever played against his sibling officially.

“We played together at River Falls High School,” Andersen said. “But since then we have only practiced and trained together.”

Andersen also said he looked forward to putting on a good show for all the family and friends that attended.

The third period began with strong defensive play until at 6:04, on the power-play Patrick Moore scored the fourth and final goal of the game. Olszewski and senior defenseman David Donnellan were credited with assists.

Head coach Matt Loen said he thought his team’s play was promising.

“Our overall play was good,” Loen said. “We expect game-saving saves from our goalie and he did it.”

Saturday night, Eau Claire returned to Menomonie to finish what they’d started. Loen said there wasn’t much they wanted to change. He said they played well the night before and planned to play this game accordingly.

“It was cold and the puck was bouncing around,” Loen said. “I thought our fans were louder than theirs most of the time.”

The Blugolds scored first for the second straight night when Donnellan scored at 16:11 on an Eau Claire power-play. Moore and freshman forward David Henry were credited with the assists.

Scoring continued into the second period as senior forward Niko Kapetanovic found the back of the net on another power-play at 00:48. Andersen and Moore got the assists.

Eight minutes later, Moore scored to set the game up at 3-0. Henry and senior defenseman Alex Olson assisted on the score.

Although Stout would score in the second period, it wasn’t enough as the third period was kept scoreless and the Blugolds went on to defeat the Blue Devils 3-1.

 Over the last two games, sophomore goalie Tyler Green blocked 55 of 56 shots attempted improving his personal record to 8-4-0.

 “He’s definitely getting more confident,” Loen said. “His rust has been knocked off after not playing for a year.”

 Loen also said the team is preparing for what should be a matchup of good defense for this weekend’s series against UW-Superior.

 “They’re good defensively.” Loen said. “Their goalie is good and they only gave up three points to River Falls.”

 Games against the Yellowjackets will be at 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Center for Alumni Weekend.