MADISON, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - UW-Eau Claire men's hockey forward Patrick Moore (So.-Grand Rapids, MN), women's hockey goalie Kim Van Brunt (Jr.-Eagle River, WI/Northland Pines) and women's diver Sara Axness (Jr.-Eau Claire, WI/Memorial) have all been named WIAC Athletes of the Week, it was announced today by WIAC Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations Matt Stanek.
Moore helped the Blugolds to a pair of victories at UW-River Falls during the week. The two losses were the first for the Falcons at Hunt Arena this season. The Blugolds entered the series ranked No. 14 by the USCHO.com, while the Falcons were ranked third. In a 5-2 victory on Jan. 23, Moore assisted an empty net goal scored by Brandon Wahlin at 18:00 of the third period. The following night in a 4-3 win, Moore scored two goals while adding an assist in the victory. Moore scored goals at 1:36 of the second period and the eventual game-winning goal at 8:17 of the third period. He assisted a Blugold power play goal at 9:47 of the second period. For the week, Moore scored two goals, including a game-winning goal, added two assists and posted a plus/minus of +1 in two games. UW-Eau Claire is now 9-2 in their last 11 games against UW-River Falls, including a 6-1 mark in Hunt Arena.
Van Brunt played solid between the pipes as the Blugolds defeated UW-Superior 4-3 on Jan. 24 at Wessman Arena. The win followed a 7-2 Yellowjacket win the previous night in Eau Claire at Hobbs Ice Center. Van Brunt saved 49 shots, including 22 saves in the second period and 15 saves in the third period. Van Brunt also saved one shot allowing no goals in 53 seconds of play against UW-Superior the previous night. The win was the Blugolds’ first-ever conference win in the WIAC. The victory also ended a six-game losing streak to the Yellowjackets and marked the first Blugold win in Wessman Arena since a 3-2 victory on February 10, 2012.
Axness won both the one and three-meter events at the Point Invite hosted by UW-Stevens Point. She won the one-meter dive with a score of 465.35 - outscoring the next closest finisher by over 51 points. In the three-meter dive, Axness posted a score of 455.45 - outscoring her next closest finisher by over 40 points.
