By Nick Hoven, UWEC Sports Information
River Falls, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team hosted the UW-Stevens Point Pointers in game one of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) semifinal round. A dominant showing of special teams play would power the Blugolds to a 2-1 victory.
Box Score | Hoepner Photos | Miller Photos
The first period would see the offensive powerhouse of Eau Claire give nonstop pressure for lengthy moments at a time. While outshooting their opponents 14 to 7, the Blugolds also killed off the contest's first penalty to keep things scoreless.
Eau Claire would get their own powerplay opportunity halfway through the second period. Morgan Zirbel (Jr. – Green Bay, WI/Ashwaubenon) would capitalize on the player advantage to give the Blugolds a 1-0 lead. Zirbel's shot from the point and through traffic was never seen by the Pointer goalie and would be her 7th goal of the year.
The final period would start with both teams seeing a powerplay in the first five-minutes of play. The Pointers would tie things up at 1 after a loose puck in front couldn't be found by the Blugold defense.
The rest of the period would see multiple Blugold powerplay opportunities and the special teams would stay hot. Abby Roeser (Sr. – Cottage Grove, MN/East Ridge) would find a rebound out front and tally her 7th goal of the season.
Goaltender Erin Connolly (Sr. – Mequon, WI/Homestead) stopped 15 of the 16 shots she faced for her 19th win of the season and is now 19-2-2.
The Blugolds will continue WIAC Championship play on Saturday, February 29th as they host the Pointers for game two of the semifinal round. Puck drop is scheduled for 2pm.
Follow the Blugolds all postseason long on Blugold Game Day or on the 'UWEC Blugolds' app from your mobile device.
