John Koenig

Four seniors played their final home game last Saturday at Hobbs Ice Arena as Blugold hockey players, and they left with something to be proud of.

The four seniors, Jessie Boyles, Laura Brackey, Amanda Schultz and Crystal Wasem will all be missed by the team women’s hockey coach Mike Collins said.

“They have tremendous character with their leadership . you don’t replace people like that,” he said. “You just hope the ones coming up are as committed. All four are great people.”

The ‘Golds played back to back games last weekend against UW-Stevens Point, the sixth-ranked team in Division III hockey. The two-game series started Friday night in Stevens Point with a tough 2-0 loss.

The score remained tied throughout the first two periods.

The Pointers were able to score three minutes into the final period and again around the 10-minute mark.

Both goals were scored on the power-play for the Pointers who capitalized and kept Blugold sophomore goalie Jill Arendt busy the whole game. Arendt was able save 27 shots during the course of the game.

Saturday night was a different story for the Blugolds. Still searching for their first conference victory, the team was determined to get the puck in the net.

Brackey did exactly that when she scored with just under two minutes left in the first period, on assists from freshman Lauren Havard and junior Karen Hebert.

Havard, who leads the team in scoring, has had great success in her first season as a Blugold. Boyles said it was cool to see what Havard has done this year.

“It proves the fact that women’s hockey is getting better,” she said. “Players are getting better every year.”

The Blugold lead continued until the Pointers were able to tie it up six minutes into the third and final period when they scored on the power-play.

The game ended in a 1-1 tie after both teams failed to score in overtime. The tie put the ‘Golds record at 0-8-5 in the NCHA and 6-12-5 overall. Arendt again had a great game for the ‘Golds with 36 saves.

“(Arendt) played outstanding,” Collins said. “Great back to back games and that made a huge difference for us.”

Boyles added, “(She) played amazing, out of her heart.”

The team will now head to Hancock (Mich.) this weekend to face Finlandia in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. The two teams tied in their previous meeting of the season, 2-2.

“It’s going to be tough, their team works hard,” Collins said. “They got a good goaltender and it’s tough to get pucks by her.”

Boyles echoed her coach’s opinion but also made a clear prediction.

“We’re going to win both games, we’ve got nothing to lose,” she said.

Collins said overall he would have expected a stronger finish this season after having a great year last year.

“We wanted to make playoffs,” he said. “They’re a great group of kids who play hard. They are resilient, great work ethic, we’ve had some tough loses and a lot of ties, but they never quit. We haven’t had the breaks go our way, but I admire them to keep coming back.”