Box Score

RIVER FALLS - UW-Stevens Point scored three goals in the first period and one in the second and then held off a three-goal barrage by UW-Superior on Saturday evening to advance to the championship game of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) O'Brien Cup playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Yellowjackets.

Nicole Grossmann (Lindstrom, MN, Chisago Lakes) put the Pointers on the board with her 19th goal of the season at the 7:28 mark of the first period, giving the Pointers the 1-0 lead. Tracy Butler (Marshfield) added another Pointer goal at the 11:55 mark of the first, her fourth of the season, off an Erin Marvin (Shoreview, Minn., Mounds View) assists.

Another goal with one second left in the first half, Dana Carothers (Burnsville, Minn.) notched her 17th goal of the season on the power play to give the Pointers a 3-0 advantage after one period of action.

Carothers notched another goal at the 9:20 mark of the second off a Grossmann pass to give the Pointers the 4-0 advantage.

UW-Superior netted their first goal of the game at the 17:36 mark of the second period, as Shana Katz scored her 11th goal of the game, putting the Yellowjackets on the board.

In the third, Superior added another goal as Lindsey LeGree scored the second goal of the game for the Yellowjackets, cutting the deficit in half. LeGree scored her second goal of the game under a minute later, cutting the Pointer lead to just one, 4-3 with 11 minutes remaining in the game.

But down the stretch, d'Andra Phillips (Swartz Creek, Mich.) turned away the Yellowjacket shots, notching six of her 23 saves in the third, as the Pointers held on for the 4-3 victory.

The Pointers (16-5-6) will face UW-River Falls, the playoff's No. 1 seed, in the championship game Sunday evening at 3:30 p.m. for a shot at the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.