Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team faced a narrow defeat against St. Mary's University (Minn.) with a score of 3-2 in their season opener at Hobbs Ice Arena on Tuesday night. Despite a strong effort in the third period, the Blugolds were unable to overcome the deficit.

St. Mary's, which had received votes in the latest USCHO Division III national poll, managed to score once in each period. The Blugolds made an attempt to rally with two goals in the third period but fell short of completing the comeback.

The Cardinals initiated scoring late in the first period with a power play goal and added another midway through the second period, leading 2-0 going into the final period.

Ashley Wagenbach scored her first career goal for UW-Eau Claire early in the third period, assisted by Ava Bullert and Lauren Ballinger. St. Mary's extended their lead to 3-1 with another power play goal just under three minutes before regulation ended. Bullert then scored for UW-Eau Claire with one minute remaining, assisted by Wagenbach and Kiera Bolt.

In net for UW-Eau Claire, Alexa Backmann made 20 saves. The Blugolds successfully killed three penalties and held a slight edge in shots at 27-23.

Looking ahead, UW-Eau Claire will play against St. Olaf on Friday, November 8th at Northfield, Minnesota, with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m.