EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team defeated UW-Stevens Point 8-2 on Saturday to sweep a two-game Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament series and advance to the conference championship game. The Blugolds will play for the WIAC title for the ninth consecutive season following a prolific scoring night against the Pointers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After taking the series opener 4-0 on Friday, the Blugolds clinched their spot in the conference championship game with another dominant performance on Saturday.
- Madisyn Krumholz (So. - Burnsville, Minn.) and Rachel Mirwald (Jr. - Verona, Wis.) scored two goals apiece to lead UW-Eau Claire (19-8-0). Ava Bullert (Jr. - North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) added two assists for the Blugolds.
- UW-Eau Claire scored four times in the first period and four more times in the second.
- The game was tied 1-1 early on before Jana Lesch (Fr. - Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Lauren Ballinger (Fr. - Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) scored back-to-back goals in a space of two minutes to make it 3-1 in the Blugolds' favor midway through the first period.
- UW-Stevens Point (12-14-1) pulled one goal back shortly after Ballinger's goal, but UW-Eau Claire scored five unanswered after that to pull away. Krumholz and Mirwald scored twice each in that span.
- Ellie Andersen (Sr. - Fergus Falls, Minn.) and Quinn Hartmetz (Sr. - Phoenixville, Pa./Gilmour Academy) also had goals for UW-Eau Claire.
- Alexa Backmann (So. - Rogers, Minn.) had eight saves in net for the Blugolds.
UP NEXT
The Blugolds will play top-ranked UW-River Falls in the WIAC championship game on Saturday, March 8, in River Falls. Game time is 2 p.m.
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