BELOIT, Wis. — Despite a heroic, 54-save performance from goaltender Andrew Yocum (St. Louis, MO), the Beloit College Men's hockey team fell 5-0 to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds on this evening at the Woodman's Sports & Convention Center.
While the final scoreline favored the visitors, the game was a defensive gridlock for the majority of the contest, with Beloit holding the high-powered Blugolds offense to a single goal through the first 40 minutes of play.
The standout story of the night was Buccaneer goaltender Yocum. Facing a relentless offensive attack, Yocum kept the Buccaneers (2-4-1, 1-2-0 WIAC) within striking distance for two periods. He stopped all 22 shots he faced in the first period to take a 0-0 tie into the first intermission. He followed that up with 19 saves in the second period, totaling 54 stops on the night against 59 shots on goal.
The Buccaneers' skater group provided significant support in the defensive zone, sacrificing their bodies to disrupt Eau Claire's shooting lanes. As a team, Beloit recorded 23 blocked shots. Sam Holy (Chicago, IL) led the defensive effort with a team-high 5 blocked shots. Mac Reed (Waunakee, WI) contributed 4 blocks while finishing with a solid defensive presence. Ben Stewart (Dayton, OH) and Zach Hutchinson (West Salem, WI) added 3 blocks apiece.
The Beloit penalty kill was also perfect on the evening, successfully neutralizing all three of UW-Eau Claire's power-play opportunities.
After a scoreless opening frame, Eau Claire finally broke the deadlock at the 6:37 mark of the second period with a goal from Trey Gnetz. Despite being outshot heavily, Beloit entered the second intermission trailing only 1-0.
However, the dam broke in the third period. Eau Claire (5-3-1, 3-0-0 WIAC) found their rhythm, netting four goals in the final frame—including two in a span of three minutes early in the period—to secure the victory.
The Buccaneers head to UW-Stevens Point on Saturday for another WIAC matchup. Puck drop between the Buccaneers and Pointers is set for 7 pm at the K.B. Willett Arena.
