MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The #7 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team played their final nonconference game of the regular season on Tuesday as they traveled to Minnesota for a matchup with Augsburg University. Despite a one goal deficit in the first period, the Bugolds scored three unanswered goals in the final two periods to complete the 3-1 comeback.
With shots tied 9-9 after the first 60 minutes of play, the two regionally ranked teams battled hard during the weeknight matinee. The scoreboards read zeroes until the final minute of play as Augsburg found the opening goal of the game with just 36 seconds left in the period. UW-Eau Claire would carry the 1-0 deficit into the first intermission.
The second period saw life come for UWEC as
Ava Bullert (So. – North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) found herself with a breakaway while Eau Claire was shorthanded. Bullert rifled a shot through the Auggie netminder's legs from the slot to even the score at 1-1.
Hattie Verstegen (Sr. – Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh North) earned an assist on Bullert's sixth goal of the season with a defensive stand on UWEC's blue line as Augsburg entered the zone.
Less than four minutes later,
Sadie Long (Jr. – Farmington, Minn.) found a rebound right in front of the crease and netted her fifth goal of the season to give Eau Claire their first lead of the night.
Sophie Rausch (Sr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) and
Maddie Hulter (Fr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) recorded assists on Long's game-winning goal while battling for the puck. The Blugolds' 2-1 lead held through the remainder of the second period as they hit the second intermission with momentum.
Sadie Long kept crashing the net in the third period as she recorded her second goal of the night just 2:26 into the last frame with another rebound goal. Rausch and Hulter collected their second assists of the night while passing into the zone. Special teams' play was big for UWEC as they killed all five penalties called against them, including a five-minute major at the end of the game. UWEC held their defense strong and earned the 3-1 road victory.
Alexa Backmann (Fr. – Saint Michael, Minn./Rogers) stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced to earn her 9
th win of the season and fourth straight. Backmann is now 9-2-0 on the year.
The Blugolds (17-4-0, WIAC 7-1-0) will take the rest of the week off from competition before gearing up for a top-10 matchup with Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opponent, #1 ranked UW-River Falls. Puck drop from Hunt Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
