EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — UW-Eau Claire (20-7-0) defeated UW-Stevens Point (11-16-0) to advance to the O'Brien Cup Championship with a decisive 5-0 victory at home. The Blugolds dominated the ice with a total of 52 shots on goal, including a power-play goal in the second period.
The first period commenced with UW-Eau Claire's
Josie Grossman winning the opening faceoff against UW-Stevens Point's Riley Novak. UWEC maintained offensive pressure early, with several shots saved by Stevens Point's goalie, Anne Beck. The scoring opened at 7:35 when
Nora Carstensen netted her fifth goal of the season for the Blugolds, assisted by
Josie Grossman and
Jordan Hancock. Despite several attempts from both teams, the period concluded with UW-Eau Claire leading 1-0.
The Blugolds capitalized on a power play early in the second period when
Maddie Hulter scored at 17:34, assisted by
Jordan Hancock and
Ashley Wagenbach, to extend their lead to 2–0. Hulter struck again at 8:22 with an even-strength goal, assisted by
Lauren Ballinger and
Rachel Mirwald, pushing the score to 3–0. Mirwald then found the back of the net herself at 5:45, with an assist from
Jana Lesch, securing her first goal of the season. UW-Stevens Point managed several shots on goal, but
Kambelle Freije's goaltending kept them scoreless through the period.
Nora Carstensen extended UW-Eau Claire's lead to 5–0 with a goal at 11:54 of the third period, assisted by
Josie Grossman. The home team dominated possession, consistently winning faceoffs and applying pressure in the offensive zone. Despite UW-Stevens Point's attempts to capitalize on a power play following a hooking penalty on
Madisyn Krumholz, the visiting team could not convert. UWEC's defense, bolstered by
Kambelle Freije's saves, maintained the shutout as the clock ran down.
Maddie Hulter scored twice, including one power-play goal, and added three shots on goal.
Nora Carstensen also found the net twice, with one being the game-winner, and maintained a perfect faceoff percentage.
Rachel Mirwald contributed with a goal and an assist, finishing with a +2 rating.
Kambelle Freije recorded 21 saves and secured a shutout in her appearance.
The Blugolds will head to River Falls to face off against the Falcons for the O'Brien Cup Championship on Saturday, March 7th at 2:00 PM.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at
Blugolds.com or on our app,
Blugold Sports, and on social media on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook.
