Issued: February 17, 2004

WOMEN'S HOCKEY WRAPS UP REGULAR SEASON THIS WEEKEND

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire women's hockey team will look to gain momentum heading into the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs this Friday and Saturday with a pair of 7:05 p.m. contests with conference opponent Lake Forest at Hobbs Ice Arena.

The games will be the last for the Foresters as they will not make the conference tournament while the Blugolds could face any of the three teams above them in the standings depending on this weekend's outcome. Just two points separate River Falls, Superior and Stevens Point atop the NCHA standings.

Eau Claire carries an overall record of 8-13-2 into the weekend. The Blugolds have lost five of their last six games but the lone win was a 2-0 blanking of sixth-ranked Stevens Point just one night after falling to the Pointers 9-0. Eau Claire has posted a 3-11-0 NCHA record, placing them fourth in the conference ahead of only Lake Forest.

The Blugold offense is led by the duo of Amanda Schultz (So.-Stevens Point/SPASH) and Laura Suppes (Fr.-Falcon Heights, MN). Schultz leads the team in goals with eight and in points with 14 while Suppes has totaled 12 points on six goals and six assists.

Sara Steinhoff (So.-West St. Paul, MN/Henry Sibley) will probably see most of the time between the pipes as she earned the shutout victory over the Pointers and held an explosive Superior offense in check last weekend. The Blugolds dropped both games to the ninth-ranked Yellowjackets but Steinhoff kept the scores close at 3-1 and 5-1.

Lake Forest has struggled all season with an overall record of just 2-20-1 and is still looking for its first NCHA point, posting a 0-14-0 record in the conference. The Foresters have scored just 17 goals all season and have tallied just two goals in their current 13-game losing streak. The last Lake Forest win came on November 30, a 4-3 victory over Concordia College (MN).

The Blugolds were responsible for two of the Foresters losses during the current skid. Eau Claire handed Lake Forest 5-0 and 1-0 losses on January 16-17.

A pair of Blugold wins this weekend would move Eau Claire ahead of Lake Forest in the all-time series record. With the wins earlier this year, the Blugolds have pulled within one game of the Foresters at 6-7-1 all-time. Eau Claire currently has a three-game win streak over the Foresters, scoring 15 goals in the three games to Lake Forest's two.

Normal admission prices will be charged for both contests with all Eau Claire students earning free admission with valid student identification.