The Falcon women's hockey team hosts UW-Eau Claire in the first round of the NCHA O'Brien Cup playoffs this weekend at Hunt Arena.
The first round is a best two-out-of-three game series. Friday's game starts at 7:05 p.m., followed by Saturday's game at 2:05 p.m. If the series is tied after Saturday's contest, a 20 minute mini game will be played on Saturday night to determine which team advances to the semifinals.
The Falcons earned the No. 1 seed by winning the NCHA regular season title for the second straight year. UWRF finished 17-2-1 in NCHA play for 35 points. Second place UW-Superior finished 13-5-2 for 28 points.
UWRF is 19-4-2 entering this weekend's series and ranked No. 8 in this week's USCHO.com poll. Eau Claire is 9-12-4 overall and is the tourney's No. 8 seed.
The two teams played twice earlier this year with the Falcons taking a
5-3 win at Hunt Arena on Jan. 20. The next night in Eau Claire the team's played to a
2-2 overtime tie.
Katie Batters leads the Falcons in scoring with 16 goals and 27 points. She has one power-play goal and two game winners.
Alice Cranston is second with 14 goals and 24 points. She has two power-play goals, a team-best three short-handed goals and two game-winners.
Emma Nordness and
Brook Story each have seven goals and 16 assists. The 16 assists leads the Falcons. Both have two game winners.Goalie
Melissa Deardorff has played in 17 games and has a 12-3 record. She has a 1.78 goals against average and a .922 saves percentage.
Ashley Kuechle has played in nine games and is 6-1-2. She has a 1.85 goals agaisnt average and a .930 saves percentage.
Eau Claire is led by Casey McMullen who has a team-best 10 goals and 18 points. She has three pwoer-play goals and a game winner. Dani Kerr leads the team with nine assists and she has 15 points. Goalie Morgan Pieper has played in 19 contest and has a 7-8-2 record. She has a 2.41 goals against average with a .906 saves percentage.
Tickets will be on sale at the door. Ticket prices are: $8 for adults and $4 for students (with ID) and senior citizens.
