STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The #10 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team wrapped up their regular season series with UW-Stevens Point on Saturday at K.B. Willett Arena. Despite being out shot in the opening period, UW-Eau Claire took control in the second and third frames to keep UWSP off the score sheet.
Maddie Hulter (Fr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) and
Alexa Backmann (Fr. – Saint Michael, Minn./Rogers) were the heroes of the afternoon, earning UWEC the 1-0 road victory.
Ellie Andersen (Jr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) led the charge for the Blugolds in the opening period with her team leading two shots on goal. On the defensive side, UW-Eau Claire kept things locked down as the Pointers were kept to the outside and were limited scoring chances. The long penalty kill for UWEC came in the final minutes of the first period and was successfully fended off as both teams hit the locker rooms tied at 0-0 in the first intermission.
The second period saw an offensive push from Eau Claire as they out shot Stevens Point 13-2.
Maddie Hulter found the lone goal of the afternoon at 9:04 of the second period during a scrum in front of the net to give UWEC the 1-0 lead. The unassisted tally was Hulter's seventh goal of the season. UW-Eau Claire kept the pressure high for the later half of the middle frame but did not find the back of the net as they held the 1-0 lead into the second intermission.
The final period saw the Blugolds out shoot the Pointers once again but couldn't find the back of the net. Defensively, UW-Eau Claire kept the Pointers out of the offensive zone for a majority of the period as they held on and earned the 1-0 shutout road win.
Alexa Backmann (Fr. – Saint Michael, Minn./Rogers) stopped all 15 shots she faced to earn her 8
th win of the season and third straight shutout of the season. Backmann is now 8-2-0 on the year.
The Blugolds (16-4-0, WIAC 7-1-0) will have a quick turnaround as they play their final nonconference game of the season on Tuesday, January 30
th in Minneapolis, Minn. when they take on Augsburg University. Puck drop from Augsburg Ice Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
