Women's Hockey | 2/21/2015 5:47:00 PM

Box Score

The seventh nationally ranked UW-River Falls women's hockey team polished off the 2014-2015 regular season with an emphatic 6-1 victory over the visiting UW-Eau Claire Blugolds on Saturday night at Hunt Arena on senior night.

The two teams will also battle next weekend in the WIAC semifinals. UWRF won all four regular season games against Eau Claire (5-0, 7-1, 3-2 and 6-1). According to the NCAA Regional Rankings, the Falcons are ranked number one overall in the west region, but the WIAC tournament winner doesn't receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, so each game down the stretch matters.

Six different Falcons scored on Saturday evening and nine Falcons got on the scoresheet. The Falcons held Eau Claire to an astonishing two shots on goal.

Blugolds junior goaltender Kim Van brunt (1-6) made a handful of point-blank saves in the first three minutes on junior forward Chloe Kinsel, sophomore forward Brianna Breiland, freshman forward Carly Moran, and sophomore forward Dani Sibley. Moran later rang a shot off the right post, but the play resulted in nothing but a Blugolds power play.

Blugolds sophomore forward Katie Burkey blasted home her first goal of the season at 5:25 of the first period on the first power play of the night. The Burkey slap shot from the right dot slammed off Falcons freshman goaltender Angie Hall's shoulder and into the net. The goal broke Hall's three-game shutout streak. Soon thereafter, Moran had yet another glorious opportunity get shutdown by the left pad of Van brunt.

Van brunt robbed senior captain forward Alice Cranston on a mid-first period power play. Cranston wristed a shot that appeared labeled for the top right corner, but Van brunt gloved the shot with ease.

Kinsel tied the contest at 12:31 of the first period with an odd goal that redirected off the backside of a Blugolds defender and behind Van brunt. Kinsel fired the puck from the left dot as she curled out of the left corner. Kinsel's team-leading 21st goal was assisted by Cranston and Breiland.

The first period ended in a 1-1 tie. UWRF outshot Eau Claire 18-1 in the period, meaning Hall (17-3-1) made zero saves. Van brunt was the difference-maker, stopping 17 shots. Shot attempts in the first period were 30-1 in favor of UWRF. Kinsel, Moran and senior captain defenseman Sam Greeley led UWRF with three shots each. Eau Claire went 1-1 on the power play in the first, while UWRF went 0-2.

Sibley was robbed by the glove hand of Van brunt on a shorthanded chance in the first minute of the second period. Sibley picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and dangled around two defenders and nearly wristed the puck past Van brunt. A nice shorthanded rush by sophomore forward Emily Stark led to Blugolds penalty.

Almost immediately after the Blugolds penalty, Cranston scored on a 4-on-4 at 1:57 of the second period. Breiland dropped a pass to the streaking Cranston and she rifled the puck through Van brunt. The goal was Cranston's 16th of the season, while Breiland upped her assist total to 14.

Van brunt continued to flash her glove as she once again robbed Cranston on an early second period power play. Van brunt was out of position, but she sprawled to her left and snagged the wrist shot from the slot.

Seconds later, however, senior defenseman Allie Olson slapped her first goal of the season past Van brunt at 6:57 of the second period on that same power play. Olson's slap shot from the point was redirected off a stick; it was unclear whether it was off Sibley's stick or that of a Blugolds defender. Moran earned an assist, which was her 15th of the season. Sibley earned the secondary assist.

It took the Blugolds approximately 32 minutes to get its second shot on goal as Hall made a routine glove save on freshman forward Jennifer Thomsen. Minutes later, Sibley rang a wrist shot off the crossbar, but the score stay at 3-1.

The Falcons led the Blugolds 3-1 after two periods. Second period shots on goal were 15-1 in favor of UWRF. Greeley led UWRF with six shots through two. Both teams went 0-2 on the power play in the second.

Stark buried her fourth goal of the season on a rebound at 4:53 of the third period to make it 4-1 UWRF. Freshman forward Dani Kocina took the initial shot that Van brunt kicked aside, but Stark slammed the puck under Van brunt's blocker. Kocina's assist was her eighth of the season.

Sibley roofed her 14th goal of the season on the power play at 9:46 of the third period. Sibley entered the offensive zone after a neutral zone regroup and walked around a defender and sniped the puck past Van brunt's glove. Senior defenseman Kendal Evenson earned her 10th assist of the season on the goal.

Breiland punched home her eighth goal of the season on yet another power play at 12:31 of the third period. Breiland found a loose puck in front of Van brunt and slipped it underneath her pad. Cranston and Kinsel earned the assists. Cranston's assist was her 21st of the season, while Kinsel bumped her total to 22.

Junior defenseman Dani Buehrer rang a shot off the left post on a late third period power play.

Third period shots on goal were 20-0. UWRF finished 3-7 on the power play, while the Blugolds went 1-5. Kinsel led UWRF with seven shots on goal. Hall made one save, while Van brunt stopped 47 shots.

UWRF finished the regular season with a 21-3-1 overall record. The Falcons finish 10-1-1 in the WIAC, 12-2 at home, and end the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. The Falcons haven't lost since Dec. 10.

Eau Claire drops to 5-19-1 overall, 1-10-1 in the WIAC, 3-10 on the road, and have lost four straight.

The Falcons are now 44-5-8 all-time against the Blugolds.

The Falcons will host the Blugolds in the WIAC O'Brien Cup semifinals on Feb. 27-28 at Hunt Arena. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, and 2:05 p.m. on Saturday.

Box Score