The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds played against the UW-River Falls Falcons in women’s hockey twice this past weekend.

The first game was on Feb. 17 at Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire. While there were no goals in the first period, the Blugolds pulled ahead with a lead of five to three in the second period.

Within the first minute of the second period, the Falcons scored the first goal of the game. Around the four-minute mark, the Blugolds scored their first goal by fourth-year forward Hallie Sheridan.

According to blugolds.com after the Falcons scored their second goal of the game the Blugolds scored four goals in a row within five minutes.

In the third period, the Blugolds scored two more goals while the Falcons scored one more, leaving the ending score at seven to four and a win for the Blugolds.

According to blugolds.com, this win brought head coach Erik Strand’s win total up to 141 wins over the past 8 seasons making him the winningest coach in the program’s history.

“I have been very fortunate to coach some incredible Blugolds who worked very hard every day to be able to wear our sweater,” Strand said. “Each year the returners pass down the traditions and in most instances find a way to improve or make our culture stronger.”

Sheridan was the high scorer of the game with two goals, and fourth-year forward Sami Scherling had the most assists with three.

Fifth-year goalie Stephanie Martin stopped 28 out of the 32 shots that were shot against her from UW-River Falls.

“This past Friday, our team really came together and showed a true team effort as all four of our lines were on the scoresheet; we didn’t rely on one or a few specific players, everyone was contributing to help win,” Martin said.

Sophie Rausch is a fourth-year forward for the team and said she will be staying for a fifth year.

“My favorite moment so far is the game against River Falls on Friday. The feeling of beating them was amazing, but also the way we came together as a team and played like we know we can was even better,” Rausch said.

The second game was held at Hunt Arena in River Falls on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Although there were 20 shots taken, Rausch was the only Blugold to score a goal during the second game.

According to blugolds.com, Martin again saved 28 out of 29 shots.

This game ended in a tie after a double overtime resulting in a score of one to one. The Falcons eventually won this game in a shootout.

“This team is something special and I can’t wait to see what we do in the postseason,” Rausch said.

These last two games against UW-River Falls completed the regular season for the Blugolds.

“This weekend was also pretty unforgettable as I think many people viewed our team to be the underdogs going into the weekend,” Martin said.

For the regular season, the Blugolds ended with 20 wins, 3 ties and 2 losses.

According to blugolds.com, the hockey team has earned the number two seed in the WIAC conference tournament this year.

“I’m really proud of our team as we have really come together over the past few weeks,” Martin said. “I believe we have shown the D3 hockey world that we are amongst the top competitors in the nation.”

“We have a lot of confidence and have built some solid momentum. So we feel we are in a great spot to compete and have success against whoever we come up against,” Strand said.

The postseason for the Blugolds starts at 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 at Hobbs Ice Arena against UW-Stevens Point.

Geske can be reached at [email protected].