By Riley Schmidt, UWEC Sports Information
RIVER FALLS, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire women's hockey team battled University of Wisconsin- River Falls on Saturday afternoon, where Eau Claire fell just short of a win with a final score of 3-2.
The first period of play saw impressive defense by Eau Claire, stopping River Falls shot after shot. Towards the end of the period, River Falls managed to sneak one goal past the Blugold net at 17:03 into the first period, ending the first 1-0 with Eau Claire down by one.
The Blugolds were nowhere near ready to give up the fight as they ramped up their offensive line. The second period saw two goals by Eau Claire, putting them ahead 2-1. The first goal for Eau Claire came at 6:27 into the period as Jaedyn Walz (So.- Woodbury, Minn.) found the back of the net for a power-play goal with an assist by Kelly Knetter (Fr.- Wausau, Wis.). The Blugolds picked up the momentum after their first goal of the game and Lexi Wilson (Fr.-Eagan, Minn.) slapped another shot past the River Falls goaltender at 9:00 into the second with an assist from Erin Goodell (Fr. - Maplewood, Minn.).
River Falls quickly retaliated from Eau Claire's advance and put another score on the board to tie up the game at 9:22 into the second. The second period ended in a score of 2-2.
The third period came down to the wire as River Falls notched the win with a power-play goal at 8:11 into the third.
Paige Turner (Sr.-Iron River, Wis./ Duluth East) was in the net for this afternoon's game and saved 30 shots compared to River Falls' 8.
UW- Eau Claire (9-10-4, 2-6-2) matches up against UW- River Falls (15-4-1, 6-3-0) again next Saturday at 2 p.m.