Game-breaking plays can happen at any time in any sport, and on Tuesday night against St. Mary’s (Minn.), the UW-Eau Claire women’s hockey team was no exception.

After taking a 2-2 tie into the third period, the Blugolds tallied three unanswered goals to record their first win in the 2006-07 season 5-2.

Eau Claire was the first to score on freshman Beth Dittrich’s first goal of the game, but St. Mary’s answered back less than a minute later and took the lead 2-1 right away in the second period.

The ‘Golds evened the score on a goal from sophomore Laura Havard.

Going into the final period, the game was knotted up at 2-2.

“After losing last weekend’s games, we were hoping for a better outcome (Tuesday night),” coach Mike Collins said. “We played extremely hard in those games, and didn’t get the results we wanted.”

Collins’ vindication started when, after battling back and forth in the second, senior Laura Suppes scored and put the ‘Golds ahead for good. It was the second of three power play goals for Eau Claire.

“We played amazing,” senior Karen Hebert said. “We outplayed, out-chanced, and outshot them . our goalie and power play opportunities really stepped up.”

Collins said the Blugolds outworked St. Mary’s and that made all the difference in the outcome.

“Our whole premise is that if we continue to wear teams down because of being in better physical condition, we can force teams to take penalties late in games,”
he said.

Dittrich and Havard added two insurance goals later in the third period.

The Blugolds outshot St. Mary’s 13-1 in the third period and 42-20 overall for the game.
Collins said it was exciting to see how the team could score after it struggled last weekend with getting the puck in the net.

“We did some things in practice to work on rebounds and moving the puck laterally,” he said. “The girls really worked hard as a team and have developed some strong chemistry.”

Even though it is early in the season, Hebert said the team keeps improving with every game.

“If we continue like this, it’s going to be exciting to see what can happen as the season progresses,” she said.

The team has been helping each other out, Collins said, adding that the strong conditioning shows later in the third period.

He said getting the first win of the season should give the team confidence in its abilities and coaches.

“(The win) shows they’re buying into what we’re selling (as coaches),” Collins said. “By working hard, relentlessly pursuing the puck and winning, everything in the atmosphere is better.”

In preparation for its home opener this weekend against St. Benedict’s (Minn.), Hebert said the team has been working on its offense.

“We’re working on scoring and sharing the puck,” she said.

Collins said the Blugolds will be looking to continue their intensity with the puck in the opponent’s end and their discipline.

“If we work hard at both ends, we’re going to have success no matter who we play,” he said. “We have to play our game of outworking other teams and the by-product will be a win.”