MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (Blugolds.com) – The #9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team wrapped up play in the Panther/Cardinal Classic on Sunday afternoon with a top-15 matchup with #15 ranked Endicott College in a battle for 3
rd place. UW-Eau Claire tallied a goal in each period and shut out the Gulls in the final period to earn the 3-2 victory and a 3
rd place finish in the tournament out East.
The UWEC offense was aggressive all afternoon as they outshot Endicott 24-16 during the 60 minutes of regulation play.
Sophie Rausch (Sr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) opened the scoring for Eau Claire at the 10:29 mark after making a toe drag move around a defender and, gliding to her right, and beating the Gulls' netminder with her backhand to give the Blugolds the 1-0 lead. Rausch's 14
th goal of the season was unassisted as UW-Eau Claire established control early.
Endicott College found their answer before the end of the first period as both teams hit the first intermission tied at 1-1.
In the second frame,
Sydney Johnson (Sr. – Apple Valley, Minn.) and UWEC came out fast as Johnson finished off a 2-on-1 opportunity with
Sophie Rausch to regain the Eau Claire lead just 55 seconds into the middle period. Rausch earned the lone assist on the second go ahead goal as she recorded her eighth multipoint game of the year. The Gulls kept the Blugolds on their toes as they found another equalizer just under seven minutes later to tie the game at 2-2. Neither side found the back of the net before the second intermission as the two squads skated into the third period tied at 2-2.
Quinn Hartmetz (Jr. – Phoenixville, Pa./Gilmour Academy) was crowned the hero of the consolation game as she tallied the game winning goal at the 11:05 mark of the third period to lift the Blugolds over the Gulls, 3-2.
Alexa Backmann (Fr. – Saint Michael, Minn./Rogers) stopped 14 of the 20 shots she faced in her second loss of the season. Backmann is now 2-2-0 on the year.
Sophie Rausch was named to the All-Tournament team with her goal and assist in the 3
rd place game.
The Blugolds (7-3-0, WIAC 2-1-0) will return to the Midwest and enjoy a week of rest before hopping back into play on Tuesday, December 5
th. UW-Eau Claire will faceoff with Hamline University for a nonconference matchup at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
