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Issued: October 31, 2007

WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAM OPENS 2007-2008 CAMPAIGN FRIDAY

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The UW-Eau Claire women’s hockey team will take the ice for the first time this season in St. Paul on Friday, November 2 against Bethel University.

When the puck drops on Friday night the Blugolds will set out to capture their second consecutive winning season and the third in program history. Last season the Blugolds finished with an overall record of 13-10-2 and a conference record of 6-7-2. The season marked the second time in school history in which the women’s hockey team finished with a winning record.

Last season the two teams split the season series 1-1. Bethel defended their home ice with a 5-2 victory in the opening game of the season last year, but the Blugolds returned the favor defeating Bethel 4-2 in early January at Hobbs Ice Arena.

Since there are no seniors on the team, for the Blugolds to defeat Bethel for a second consecutive time they will rely heavily on the leadership of their two talented junior forwards Lauren Havard (Jr.-San Angelo, TX/Arapahoe) and Margaret Campbell (Jr.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata). Both Harvard and Campbell were big contributors on the scoring scene for the team last year. Out of the returning players, Harvard had the most points last year with 17, and Campbell lit the lamp seven times last year and tallied nine assist. Beth Dittrich (So.-Roseville, MN) is another key player with experience. Since the team lost its top two scorers of a year ago to graduation Laura Suppes and Martina Korinek, Dittrich should have the opportunity to increase her point total of 16 from a year ago.

On the defensive side of the ice, Hannah Kinney (So.-Avoca, WI/Riverdale) and Michelle Stohr (So.-South St. Paul, MN) are the only returning players. Last season, Stohr played in all 25 games, tallied 15 points from the blue line, and earned a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) honorable mention selection. The Blugolds welcome four freshmen to join Stohr and Kinney on defense this season and will add 7 freshmen on offense.

Key losses from last year’s team are Laura Suppes, Karen Hebert, Martina Korinek, Allie Campbell, and Tara Hayner. All of the graduated seniors made major contributions to the team in their final seasons. Suppes and Campbell earned first team NCHA honors. Heber, Korinek, and Hayner each earned NCHA honorable mention selections. Between the five of them Suppes, Hebert, Korinek, Campbell, and Hayner combined for 76 points last year.

After a rough stretch run, in which the Bethel women’s hockey team lost six of its’ last seven games, they finished the season with an overall record of 6-14-3. However, despite the rough finish last year, the team has a lot to look forward to this season with four returning juniors who received Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) honors last season. Bethany Murphy is one of the returning juniors and she lead the team in scoring last season with 25 points. Right behind her was fellow junior Sandra Felten who finished last season with 23 points. In net, Beth Spurrier earned her second All-MIAC honor last year. After two seasons, Spurrier has nine shutouts in her young and impressive career.

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