RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team fell to top-ranked UW-River Falls 4-1 on Saturday in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) O'Brien Cup final at Hunt Arena. The Falcons broke open a tie game midway through the second period and pulled away from there to clinch the WIAC title.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons (23-3-2) scored about nine minutes into the game to establish a lead, but the Blugolds (19-9-0) answered a little later. Jana Lesch (Fr. - Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) scored off an assist from Quinn Hartmetz (Sr. - Phoenixville, Pa./Gilmour Academy) with 4:15 left in the first period to tie the game 1-1.
- UW-River Falls scored the go-ahead goal with just under 11 minutes left in the second period.
- The Falcons tacked on another goal — this time off the power play — in the final five minutes of the second period. They took a 3-1 lead into the final period.
- The final goal came with 13:13 left in regulation. It put UW-River Falls ahead 4-1, and the Blugolds couldn't recover.
- Alexa Backmann (So. - Rogers, Minn.) made 20 saves in net for UW-Eau Claire.
- The Falcons held a 24-23 advantage in shots.
- UW-Eau Claire was playing in the O'Brien Cup final for the ninth consecutive season.
UP NEXT
The NCAA Tournament field
will be announced on Sunday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m.
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