EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The #6 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team was back at Hobbs Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) O'Brien cup semifinals. As UW-Eau Claire faced off with UW-Superior for the second time in two days, the Blugolds dominated the afternoon by out shooting the Yellowjackets 48-11 and scoring three times on the powerplay to earn them the 4-1 victory and advancement to the O'Brien Cup finals.
The Blugolds started exactly where they left off in game one as they kept the offensive pressure high to open the game.
Ava Bullert (So. – North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) got things started for UW-Eau Claire on the powerplay at the 15:12 mark as she buried a loose puck out in front of the net to give UWEC a 1-0 lead before the first intermission.
Sadie Long (Jr. – Farmington, Minn.) and
Sydney Johnson (Sr. – Apple Valley, Minn.) earned assists on Bullert's seventh goal of the season.
As Eau Claire rode the 1-0 lead into the middle frame,
Sophie Rausch (Sr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) continued her stellar weekend as she collected her fifth goal in two games early in the second period to increase the Blugold lead to 2-0 while on the powerplay. Rausch's top shelf shot was assisted by
Sadie Long as the momentum continued to tilt in the home team's favor. Just before the second intermission,
Eden Gruber (Sr. – Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) lit the lamp for the ninth time this season after receiving a pass from
Madisyn Krumholz (Fr. – Burnsville, Minn.), increasing the UWEC lead to 3-0. Krumholz and
McKenna Sandberg (Fr. – Saint Michael, Minn./Rogers) earned the assists on Gruber's tally.
In the third period, UWEC showed no sign of slowing down.
Sophie Rausch made history as she capitalized on the powerplay, recording her 50
th point of the season and 100
th career goal.
Sadie Long earned her third assist of the afternoon on Rausch's milestone tally and
Hattie Verstegen (Sr. – Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh North) earned the secondary assist.
A last minute powerplay goal from UW-Superior wasn't enough as the Blugolds held on to the 4-1 victory.
Josie Mathison (Sr. – Tomah, Wis.) stopped 10 of the 11 shots she faced in her ninth win of the season. Mathison is now 9-2-0 on the year.
The Blugolds (21-6-0, WIAC 9-3-0) advance to the WIAC O'Brien Cup finals and will face UW-River Falls in on Saturday, March 2
nd. Start time for the game between the Blugolds and Falcons is yet to be determined.
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Blugold Sports.
