Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's hockey team was defeated by the top-ranked UW-River Falls in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) O'Brien Cup final. The match took place on Saturday at Hunt Arena, with a final score of 4-1 in favor of the Falcons.

The game began with UW-River Falls scoring approximately nine minutes into play. However, the Blugolds managed to equalize later in the first period when Jana Lesch scored with an assist from Quinn Hartmetz, bringing the score to 1-1.

In the second period, UW-River Falls regained their lead with a goal just under 11 minutes remaining. They further extended their advantage with a power-play goal within the last five minutes of the same period, ending it with a 3-1 lead.

The Falcons secured their victory with another goal at 13:13 left in regulation time, making it impossible for UW-Eau Claire to catch up.

Alexa Backmann made 20 saves for UW-Eau Claire during the match. The Falcons narrowly led in shots, holding a 24-23 advantage over their opponents. This marked UW-Eau Claire's ninth consecutive appearance in the O'Brien Cup final.

The NCAA Tournament field is set to be announced on Sunday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m., which will determine future matches for both teams.