RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The No. 1-ranked UW-River Falls women's hockey team and No. 9-ranked UW-Eau Claire finished in a 1-1 draw and a Falcon shootout victory during the regular season finale Saturday afternoon in a battle for the WIAC's top seed and regular season title.
UWRF and UWEC each finish with a 10-1-1 conference record, but the extra points with the Falcons' triumph in the shootout pushed them over the edge, finishing with 32 points compared to the Blugolds' 30 points in the league standings.
The Falcons, now 21-3-1 overall, will open the WIAC O'Brien Cup Tournament in the Semifinals Feb. 24-25, hosting the winner of No. 4 seeded UW-Superior/No. 5 seed Northland.
Maddie McCollins scored the lone Falcon goal in regulation, and the eventual shootout game-winner while
Sami Miller turned aside all three Blugold shootout attempts.
It took UWRF just over five minutes in to get on the board as McCollins scored her team-leading 24th goal of the season, assisted by
Holly Eckers. UWRF led 1-0 after one period, but UWEC capitalized with a power play chance to tie the game, setting the score at one apiece heading into the third period.
Neither team could score in the third or overtime periods, forcing the shootout.
