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Issued: January 10, 2008

MEN’S HOCKEY FINISHES NON-CONFERENCE PLAY AT HOME

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey team will complete its non-conference schedule this weekend at Hobbs Ice Center, taking on Augsburg College on Friday and Hamline University on Saturday.

The Blugolds come into this weekend with a 7-8-0 overall record, after splitting last weekend. Eau Claire did get back to .500 at home last weekend with a 6-3 victory over Lawrence University on Friday, but were unable to defeat Augsburg College in Minnesota, losing 3-7. Augsburg enters this weekend with a 1-10-2 record while Hamline has a 6-3-2 record.

Eau Claire has averaged 2.73 goals per game, while opponents score 2.93 per game. The Blugolds are 15-for-78 on the power play, a .192 conversion percentage, and opponents are 15-for-81 (.185 percent). Eau Claire and opponents are almost even on penalties for the season with 104 for the Blugolds and 103 for opponents.

Leading the Blugolds this season is left wing Sean Garrity (North St. Paul, Minn./North) with 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists. Garrity has scored one game-winning goal and one power play goal. Andrew Johnson (Jr.-Andover, Minn./Anoka) is the only other Blugold with a double digit point total. He has a team-leading eight goals and three assists for 11 points. Johnson has scored three power play goals and two game-winning goals.

On the defensive side, Tyler Brigl (So.-Eagan, Minn.) leads the Blugolds in net, starting all but one game and accumulating almost 836 minutes. Brigl has saved 89 percent of shots faced (299-of-336) and allowed 37 goals. Mike Gatzke (Sr.-White Bear Lake, Minn./Hill-Murray) picked up his first action in goal last Saturday, starting against the Auggies. He faced 28 shots and allowed seven goals, saving 75 percent of shots faced.

Augsburg College enters Hobbs this Friday with its only win of the season coming against the Blugolds last weekend. Opponents are outscoring Augsburg 58-28, and the Auggies are only converting 12.2 percent of power plays (12- for-82) while opponents are 18- for-69 (26.1 percent).

Jim Jensen leads the Auggies with five goals and five assists for 10 points. Jensen picked up two goals and two assists last Saturday against the Blugolds. Three goalies have seen time in goal for the Auggies with Andrew Kent starting eight games, Adam Hendel starting five and Michael Henrichsen playing one. Kent has a 86.8 save percentage and has allowed 4.53 goals per game. Hendel is allowing 3.95 goals per game while saving 86.9 percent of shots faced.

Hamline comes into the game outscoring opponents 47-27. The Pipers are converting 38.5 percent of power plays (20-for-52) while opponents are converting on 26.0 percent (13-for-50).

Five Pipers have double digit point totals, with Dustin Fulton leading the charge. Fulton has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points. Jared Hummel has added two goals and 12 assists for 14 points while Steve Festler has contributed eight goals and five assists. Three goalies have also seen time in the net with Zachary Faust leading the way. He has started six games and has almost 390 minutes of playing time. Faust has allowed 10 goals this season and has a save percentage of 93.6 percent.

The Blugolds are 4-12-0 all-time against Augsburg but are leading the Hamline series with an overall record of 8-4-1.

The puck is set to drop both nights this weekend at 7 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Center.

- KM -

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