ST. PAUL, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – Playing in their last game of 2018, the 9th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team tallied a 5-1 win over St. Catherine University on Friday night.
The Blugolds controlled the game from the start as Lexi Wilson (Sr-Eagan, MN/Eagan) put the Blugolds on the board first with a goal at the 7:56 mark of the first period thanks to assists from Bree Osborne (So. – West St. Paul, MN/Cretin Derham Hall) and Kelli Pritzlaff (Jr-Lakeville, MN/North).
Osborne would net a goal of her own four and a half minutes into the second off a Courtney Wittig (Sr. – Green Bay, WI/Bayport) assist. The goal would be the first of three Eau Claire goals in the second period, as both Wittig and Erin Goodell (Sr-Maplewood, MN/Woodbury) would record unassisted goals to give the Blugolds a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the final frame.
In the third period, Eryn Fjelsted (Fr. – Rochester, MN/Mayo) lit the lamp at 14:43 for the fifth goal of the day. Emma Peterson (So. – Superior, WI) would earn the assist on the goal.
St. Kate's would get on the board with a goal in the last 30 seconds of the third period, but it would be too little, too late as the Blugolds would pick up their eighth win of the season.
Eau Claire out-shot the Wildcats 18-15 and the two squads each won 29 faceoffs.
Erin Connolly (Jr. – Mequon, WI/Homestead) tallied 14 saves on the night and improves to 7-2-2 on the season.
The Blugolds (8-2-2) will be off until 2019 and return to road to start the new year with another trip to Minnesota to take on No. 10 Gustavus Adolphus College on Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day or on the 'UWEC Blugolds' app on your mobile device.
