STEVENS POINT, Wis. - After defeating UW-Eau Claire 3-2 on the road last Saturday, the UW-Stevens Point women's hockey team closes out its regular-season series with the Blugolds on Saturday afternoon at Ice Hawks Arena.
 
THE BASICS
Who: UW-Eau Claire (9-9-4, 2-5-2 WIAC) at UW-Stevens Point (12-7-2, 4-3-2 WIAC)
When: Saturday, Jan. 6, - 2:30 p.m.
Where: Ice Hawks Arena - Stevens Point, Wis.
 
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LAST TIME OUT
On Saturday, UW-Stevens Point trailed 1-0 but scored three consecutive goals late in the second period and early in the third to take a 3-1 lead. UW-Eau Claire got one goal back in the final minute but the Pointers held on to improve to 6-0-1 in their last seven games in Eau Claire. Rachel Reynard (Hortonville, WI/Hortonville) led the way with a goal and a pair of assists, while Cara Lemirande (Janesville, WI/Craig) and Lauren Smith (Antigo, WI/Antigo) each netted goals for the Pointers.
 
ABOUT UW-STEVENS POINT | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
UW-Stevens Point is 6-1-0 in its last seven games and sits at 12-7-2 overall this season. The Pointers are returning home for the first time in nearly a month after a string of five consecutive road games.
 
ROAD WARRIORS RETURN HOME
UW-Stevens Point's last home game was a 5-3 victory over Marian on Jan. 9, which came a day after a 4-0 shutout of Gustavus on home ice. The Pointers have played 10 of their last 13 games away from home after starting the season with eight consecutive home games.
 
The Pointers are 7-2-2 at Ice Hawks Arena this season and are unbeaten (2-0-2) in their last four at home. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, UW-Stevens Point is 31-8-3 in its last 42 games on home ice.
 
TEAM OF THE WEEK HONORS
Reynard earned D3hockey.com Team of the Week honors when she matched a career-high three points in UW-Stevens Point's 3-2 win at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday evening. The senior had a hand in all three UW-Stevens Point goals, scoring the first and setting up the second and third. Her goal at 12:56 of the second period tied the game at 1-1 and her two assists gave the Pointers a 3-1 lead until the Blugolds got one back in the final minute. She is the second UWSP women's hockey player to be named to the D3hockey.com Team of the Week this season.
 
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
UWSP enters the weekend with the 24th-ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 2.57 goals per game. Fourteen UWSP skaters have recorded points this season and six are in double figures. The Pointers are led by senior forwards Kat Nejedlo (Fond du Lac, WI/Fond du Lac) (5-14-19) and Emily Lester (Eau Claire, WI/Memorial) (10-5-15).
 
ANOTHER ONE-GOAL WIN
Saturday's 3-2 victory over UW-Eau Claire was UW-Stevens Point's 10th one-goal victory this season. The Pointers have played in 13 games decided by one goal and are 10-3 in those games. UWSP's last five games have each been decided by a single goal and the Pointers are 4-1-0.
 
Three of UW-Stevens Point's 10 one-goal wins have come in overtime and the Pointers are 3-0-1 in overtime games this season. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Pointers are 28-7 in games decided by one goal and are unbeaten (7-0-8) in overtime games.
 
WIAC UPDATE
With three weekends remaining until the WIAC Tournament, UW-River Falls sits atop the conference standings with 12 points (6-3-0), followed by UW-Stevens Point with 10 (4-3-2). UW-Superior is third with eight points (3-4-2) and UW-Eau Claire sits in fourth with six points (2-5-2). All four teams make the WIAC Women's Ice Hockey Championship's O'Brien Cup, which will begin on Feb. 26.
 
IN THE POLLS | USCHO.com Poll
With the victory in Eau Claire last weekend, the Pointers continue to receive votes in the USCHO.com poll, receiving eight this week.
 
ABOUT UW-EAU CLAIRE | HOME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
UW-Eau Claire enters the weekend with a record of 9-9-4 and is 2-5-2 in the WIAC. Last weekend, Danielle Lucker and Monica Sjodin both scored goals in the loss to UWSP. Following Saturdays game, the Blugolds will wrap up the regular season with two games against conference foe and nationally-ranked UW-River Falls.
 
UWEC is led by Mariah Czech, who has recorded 11 points (9-2-11) in 22 games this season. Goaltender Paige Turner currently ranks 18th in the country with a goals-against average of 1.54 and boasts a save percentage of .938 in 16 starts.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
UW-Stevens Point leads the all-time series 40-6-5. Before last weekend's 3-2 UWSP victory, the two teams squared off earlier this season in a home-and-home series on Dec. 4-5. After a 3-3 tie in Stevens Point, the Pointers claimed a 3-2 win in Eau Claire. The Pointers are unbeaten in their last 15 meetings with the Blugolds, going 12-0-3 since Dec. 9, 2011. The last UW-Eau Claire victory in the series was a 3-1 decision on Jan. 22, 2011 in Eau Claire.
 
UW-Stevens Point has never lost to UW-Eau Claire at Ice Hawks Arena, as the Pointers are 25-0-2 at home against the Blugolds at home.
 
THE COACHES
Ann Ninnemann is currently in her 10th season behind the bench as the head coach of the Pointers. Under Ninnemann's direction, the Pointers have posted a 151-80-28 (.637) record. Ninnemann is one of the only people ever to both play and coach in a Division III Frozen Four and led the Pointers to a third-place finish in 2006-07. She also was an assistant coach in the Frozen Four and became just the third female head coach ever to lead a team to the national semifinals. The Pointers have advanced to the WIAC Championship game in each of the last two seasons and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament in 2013-14. Ninnemann was UW-Stevens Point's first All-American player in 2001-02 and captained the Pointers for three straight seasons from 2002-05. In her career, Ninnemann scored 124 points, which ranks second in UWSP program history.
 
Erik Strand is in his first season as head coach of the UW-Eau Claire women's hockey team. Prior to coaching the women's team, Strand spent eight seasons as an assistant coach for the UW-Eau Claire men's team and helped guide the team to the 2013 NCAA Division III national championship. Strand played four seasons for UW-Eau Claire from 1998-2002. Prior to UW-Eau Claire, he played three seasons for the USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers.