The UW-Eau Claire men’s ice hockey season is back in full swing with fiery victories against the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Lake Forest College at Hobbs Municipal Ice Center over the weekend.

The Blugolds matched up against Milwaukee. They won 3-1.

UW-Eau Claire was able to get on the scoreboard by the 8:50 mark. Andrew McGlynn, a first-year forward, scored the first goal for the Blugolds.

“He sees the ice well,” Coach Matt Loen said. “He’s really strong on the puck, we are expecting him to just continue to grow as a player.”

Milwaukee wasn’t able to get a goal during the first period of the game. At the start of the second period, both teams fought for a goal. McGlynn scored on a power play at the 5:16 mark, making the score 2-0.

Shortly after, another Blugold got on the board during a power play. Johnny Mueller, a fourth-year defensive player for UW-Eau Claire, scored the third goal of the game.

The Blugolds were up 3-0, but Milwaukee didn’t leave the scoreboard unattended. Milwaukee’s Evan Kearns scored the first goal for the team during the second period.

The third period remained scoreless. The Blugolds had 42 shots on goal and won 42 faceoffs, ending the game for a 3-1 win.

“I think we just want to continue to grow as a team,” Loen said. “Our goal is to be the best team in the nation at the end of the year.”

After the first win of the season on Friday night, the Blugolds followed up with another victory on Saturday against Lake Forest College from Illinois.

In the first period Lucas Kohls, a fourth-year forward for the Blugolds, took advantage of a power play and scored the first goal of the game.

“I felt good to get a goal early in the season, so that I could focus on the details that help teams win hockey games,” Kohls said. “This is my last year as a Blugold, and it is bittersweet, but I am thankful for the opportunity that Coach Loen gave me to come here and continue my hockey career.”

Lake Forest was unresponsive and the first period remained 1-0 with the Blugolds in the lead.

Both teams weren’t able to get the puck in the back of the net during the second period.

UW-Eau Claire’s Scott Munro, a third-year defenseman, scored in the third period. Ryan Kruss from Lake Forest responded by scoring, putting the team one point behind the Blugolds.

Nathan Dingmann, a second-year forward for the Blugolds, scored the last goal of the game. The final score of Saturday’s game was 3-1.

The Blugolds remain undefeated with an away win against Northland College on Tuesday. The team was able to play down to the last few minutes, scoring a third period goal to take a 3-2 victory back to Eau Claire. 

“I think we can improve on a lot of things,” Loen said. “Just little things that we can keep getting better at and growing as a team.”

Erskine can be reached at [email protected].