ASHLAND, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The #6 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team began their final regular season road series on Friday with a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) matchup with Northland College. After scoring three goals in the first period, the Blugolds tallied just one goal in the final two frames to earn the 4-0 shutout victory away from home.
The lamps were not lit until just before the halfway mark of the opening period as
Sadie Long (Jr. – Farmington, Minn.) netted her eighth goal of the season from the slot to give the Blugolds a 1-0 lead.
Sophie Rausch (Sr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) collected her team leading 18
th assist of the season to give UWEC early momentum. Less than four minutes later,
Madisyn Krumholz (Fr. – Burnsville, Minn.) redirected a pass from
Hattie Verstegen (Sr. – Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh North) in the slot to extend the UWEC lead to 2-0. Krumholz's second goal of the season held assists from Verstegen and
Sam Moehle (So. – Farmington, Minn.).
The Blugold offense wasn't done there as
Kylie Wiltse (Fr. – Roseville, Minn.) ripped a shot from the point just three minutes later and found her second goal of the season and a 3-0 Eau Claire lead.
Madisyn Krumholz earned the lone assist on Wiltse's tally to close out the first period with a 3-0 lead.
The second period held much of the same offensive power from Eau Claire as
Sophie Rausch found time and space in the slot and ripped the puck top shelf to extend the Eau Claire lead to 4-0. Sade Long and
McKenna Sandberg (Fr. – Saint Michael, Minn./Rogers) earned assists on Rausch's 12
th goal of the season as UWEC kept themselves in full control.
For the remaining 30 minutes of the game, Eau Claire out shot Northland 20-7 and kept their defense solid as they came away with the 4-0 victory and the team's fifth shutout of the year.
Alexa Backmann (Fr. – Saint Michael, Minn./Rogers) stopped all 19 shots she faced to earn her tenth win and fourth shutout of the season. Backmann is now 10-3-0 on the year.
The Blugolds (18-5-0, WIAC 8-2-0) will wrap up their weekend series on the road with the Lumberjills on Saturday, February 10
th at the Bay Area Civic Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m.
