Lady Yellowjackets Sweep

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

The Yellowjackets were looking to put the finishing touches on a sweep on the back end of a home and home series against UW-Eau Claire.  After opening WIAC play at Wessman Arena with a 5-3 win over the Blugolds, the Yellowjackets had to get back up and hit the road to Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire to finish off the Blugolds.  The Yellowjackets started strong and held their own until the end to lock up a 4-2 victory.

It only took a couple minutes into the contest to get the juices flowing for the Yellowjackets; and an early power play opportunity had a lot to do with that.  Despite coming up unsuccessful on UW-Eau Claire’s tripping penalty at 1:49 of the first period, it provided a solid foundation for the next goal.  That next goal came at 5:21 of the first period when Haley Olmstead (Fargo, N.D./Fargo North) fired a shot past UW-Eau Claire goaltender Paige Turner to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead.

Both teams put up big numbers offensively in the second period, but it was the Yellowjackets who edged the Blugolds 3-2 in the period.  The Yellowjackets kicked off the scoring when Olmstead put home a power play goal at 4:29 of the second period to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 2-0.  Maggie Cragg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) and

Mikayla Goodin (Andover, Minn./Andover) were credited with assists on the play.

The Yellowjackets hope of a shutout were crashed when Sam Knutson cut the Yellowjacket lead in half with a goal at 10:41 of the second period to make the score 2-1.  This fueled the Yellowjackets’ fire as they responded less than a minute later when Karen Larson (Blumenort, Manitoba/Steinbach Regional Secondary) fired a shot past Turner to extend the Yellowjacket lead to 3-1 at 11:05 of the second period.

Goodin continued to impress in her young Yellowjacket career when she extended the Yellowjacket lead to 4-1 with a goal at 12:31 of the second period off a pass from Olmstead.  The Blugolds cut the lead in half again on Claudia Gagnon’s goal at 13:53 of the second period to make the score 4-2, but that’s all they were able to come up with.

Olmstead led the Yellowjackets in the contest offensively with a pair of goals and an assist.

Megan Leikkari (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate CV&I) registered ten saves in goal for the Yellowjackets while Turner stopped 23 shots for UW-Eau Claire.

The Yellowjackets (5-1, 2-0 WIAC) will take their talents back to Wessman Arena on Friday, Nov. 21 when the take on UW-Stevens Point.  Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.