RIVER FALLS, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The #6 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team was back in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament championship on Saturday for the eighth consecutive year. UW-Eau Claire faced off with #1 ranked UW-River Falls for the eighth year in a row as well as both teams looked to take home the O'Brien Cup trophy. A defensive battle during the afternoon championship kept both teams tied at the end of regulation, as the two sides would need overtime to decide a winner. Despite playing sound defense all game long, a bouncing puck found its way hopping up and over into the Blugolds' net as UWEC fell 2-1.
From the beginning, a defensive battle was present as both sides seldom found opportunities to earn the opening tally. Senior netminder
Josie Mathison (Sr. – Tomah, Wis.) found her groove early as she kept the top ranked Falcons from finding the back of the net with 22 of her 36 total saves in the first two periods. The Blugolds stood strong in front of their goalie as well, blocking just over 35% of the shots taken by UWRF. On the offensive side,
Quinn Hartmetz (Jr. – Phoenixville, Pa./Gilmour Academy) and
Sadie Long (Jr. – Farmington, Minn.) led the Blugolds with shots on goal in the first two frames as they kept the Falcons on their heels.
Both teams combined for 29 shots in the first two periods, but neither goal light came alive as the two squads hit the second intermission tied at 0-0.
In the third, Eau Claire opened the scoring just over three minutes into the frame as
Ellie Andersen (Jr. – Fergus Falls, Minn.) fired home a shot from the slot after receiving a pass from Sam Bandholz (Jr. – Richfield, Wis./Slinger) to give UWEC the 1-0 lead.
Rachel Mirwald (So. – Verona, Wis.) also earned an assist on Andersen's tally to help give the Blugolds momentum. The two ranked teams continued to battle in the third period and eventually they found themselves deadlocked on the scoreboard once again as River Falls capitalized on a loose puck in front of the crease. Neither team found an upper hand the remainder of the third frame as the two sides remained tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation.
In the overtime period, the Blugolds made a quick jump on the Falcons and found opportunities in front of the River Falls net, but they couldn't find the back of net. Just past the six-minute mark, UW-River Falls found a zone entry and fired the puck on the net. The rebound lost itself in a scrum out in front and was eventually batted in by UWRF, to seal the 2-1 overtime loss for UWEC.
Josie Mathison (Sr. – Tomah, Wis.) stopped 34 of the 36 shots she faced in her third loss of the season. Mathison finishes the season with a 9-3-0 record.
The Blugolds finish the regular season and WIAC postseason with a 21-7-0 overall record and a 9-3-0 record in conference play. UWEC will wait to see if they receive a an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament. The selection is scheduled for Sunday, March 3
rd at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast at
ncaa.com.
