Kyle Seidel

When danger is present, and when disaster needs to be avoided, you often need to change your plan for the better. Sometimes, you have to do it twice.

Facing early deficits against winless Finlandia, the UW-Eau Claire women’s hockey team had to play comeback both Friday and Saturday night at Hobbs Arena, escaping both games with close victories. In doing so, they claimed the final spot in the NCHA playoffs.

“I challenged (the team) in the locker room, asked, ‘What kind of character do we have?,’ ” coach Mike Collins said. “Here we’re about to go into the playoffs, tonight’s team hasn’t won a game, we’re down 2-1, we’re at home, we’re looking for momentum, so let’s find out. In the end, it was a good result.”

Collins was referring to the events of the second intermission, one in which the Blugolds found themselves against the wall, and in need of a tie or victory to secure the final playoff spot. At that point sophomore Tara Hayner took matters into her own hands, tying the score with 17:40 remaining in the period following a pass from freshman Sophie Saltzman.

Just more than four minutes later, junior Claire Parda was on the receiving end of passes from sophomores Amber Stevenson and Karen Hebert, slapping the ultimate game-winner past Finlandia’s Lion Alexa Watkins. Hayner added an insurance goal with 3:26 left, scoring the Blugolds’ second power play goal of the night following a feed from junior Laura Brackey, to cap the 4-2 Eau Claire victory.

“I think that our whole team did pretty well on our shots,” Hayner said. “We picked up, did a lot of shooting drills this week at practice so I think that kind of benefited us this weekend.”

With the shot advantage the Blugolds had during the two games, it’s tough to object to Hayner. The ‘Golds outshot the Lions 41-26 in Saturday night’s contest, and 37-19 in Friday’s, including a 21-6 second period outburst.

“We realized it’s our last home game and we’ve got nothing to lose,” junior Amanda Schultz said. “It was a disastrous first two periods, so we just wanted to finish hard, go out with a bang.”

Saturday night’s game was eerily similar to Friday’s affair, one which the Blugolds started slow, turned it up midway and had just enough juice to skate away victorious.

After freshman goalie Jill Arendt let one of the few Lion shots past her toward the end of the first period, the Blugolds countered with a scoring barrage of their own.

Schultz made good on a pass from senior Christa Hubert, tying the game with 15:32 remaining in the second period. With less than three minutes remaining in the period, Hebert gave Eau Claire the go-ahead goal following passes from Schultz and freshman Kelly Ivey.

The Blugolds carried their second period momentum into the first half of the third, but needed to hold off a feisty band of Lions to secure the win. Schultz added her second goal of the night, and team-leading 14th of the season, with 14:53 remaining in the third period. Sophomore Martina Korinek added what could usually be a seemingly meaningless goal with less than eight minutes remaining to give Eau Claire a 4-1 cushion.

However, Korinek’s goal went from an insurance goal to the game-winner, thanks to two Lion goals 58 seconds apart late in the third period. Arendt was up to the task securing victory and the last playoff spot, with solid netminding against a 6-on-5 Lion last-minute advantage.

“When we’re outworking teams, that’s when we’re having success,” Collins said about Saturday’s game. “In the third period, we cranked it up and we found a way.”

With the sweep the Blugolds finish the regular season with a record 14 victories, four more than the previous record, set last year.

However, because the Blugolds secured the final playoff spot, they face the daunting task of knocking off UW-Stevens Point Friday night, a feat that will definitely not come easy, Collins said.

“We played a great game against them (at Hobbs), a great game,” he said, “and then the next day we went into Stevens Point and never got off the bus. We have to get over that mental take, we’re playing Point, in Point … but if we win one game, we’re in the championship. I’d rather be the underdog.”

The puck gets dropped 7 p.m. Friday at Stevens Point, with the victor playing on Saturday against the winner of the UW-River Falls-UW-Superior game.