EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – For the second consecutive night, the UW-Eau Claire women's hockey team was unable to overcome an early deficit as the Blugolds fell to St. Mary's 4-1 here tonight at Hobbs Ice Center.
Box Score | Coach Collins Video
The Blugolds fall to 1-13-1 on the season while the Cardinals improve to 5-5-1.
St. Mary's led 1-0 lead entering the first intermission and added a goal at 17:05 of the second period to take a 2-0 lead. Two Cardinal penalties at 18:36 and 19:19 gave the Blugolds a 5-on-3 advantage which they would capitalize on. Sam Knutson (Sr.-North St. Paul, MN) scored her third goal of the season at 19:39 assisted by Paige Dale (So.-Andover, MN) and Katie Burkey (So.-Ramsey, MN/Anoka) cutting the Cardinal lead to 2-1 entering the second intermission.
Eau Claire came out firing in the third period, outshooting St. Mary's 12-5 but was unable to convert any of those shots into goals. The Cardinals added two insurance goals at 8:16 and 13:45 to secure the victory.
Paige Turner (Jr.-Iron River, WI/Duluth East) saved 21 shots in 59:08 of action between the pipes.
Eau Claire outshot St. Mary's 29-25 and committed two less penalties than the Cardinals. St. Mary's went 0-for-5 on the power play while the Blugolds went 1-for-7.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Blugolds as they will travel to St. Catherine for a rare Tuesday night hockey game on January 6. The Blugolds lost to St. Catherine 4-1 on November 8 at Hobbs Ice Center. Face-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
-KCM-
