NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's hockey team picked up its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent in nearly five years by knocking off No. 7-ranked UW-Eau Claire, 3-1, in its home opener on Friday evening at St. Olaf Ice Arena.

St. Olaf (1-1-1) got goals from junior Evan Shoemaker, first year Ethan Hersant, and sophomore Brendan Darby, as well as a 38-save performance from first year Thomas Lalonde in his collegiate debut to deal UW-Eau Claire (0-2-0) its second-straight loss to start the season. The win was the program's first over a nationally-ranked team since 2-1 victory at sixth-ranked Augsburg on Dec. 3, 2016.

The Oles scored once in each period to take a 3-0 lead after Darby's power-play goal just 18 seconds into the final period. Lalonde took care of the rest, stopping the first 37 shots he faced until the Blugolds broke through on a goal by Quinn Green with just under three minutes remaining.

Shoemaker tallied the game's opening goal at 12:58 of the opening period, entering the offensive zone on the right before skating to the middle and firing a wrist shot into the top-left corner for his first goal of the season. The goal came shortly after St. Olaf killed off a minor penalty and stood as the lone goal of the opening 20 minutes.

Hersant got on the scoresheet for the first time in his collegiate career at 7:23 of the second, beating Riley McVeigh up high on the blocker side after collecting a drop pass from Shoemaker between the circles. Lalonde stopped all 16 shots he faced in period two to send the Oles into the second intermission with a two-goal lead.

It didn't take long for St. Olaf to stretch its lead to 3-0 in the third, scoring just seven seconds into a power play after first year Jonathan Young drew a hooking call just 10 seconds into the period. Darby was in the right place at the right time as the puck caromed onto his stick from behind the net and he did the rest to pick up his second goal in the first three games of the season.

The Blugolds held a 40-17 advantage in shots on goal in the game but were unable to solve Lalonde until Green's goal at 17:03 of the third period. UW-Eau Claire generated just two shots on goal after Green's goal as the Oles picked up their first win of the season.

St. Olaf hosts UW-Superior to finish off the weekend on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m.