EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Coming off a comfortable victory in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs, the Yellowjacket women's hockey team was poised to square off against the top seed in the conference tournament, UW-Eau Claire.
 
The Blugolds topped the Yellowjackets in a pair of hotly contested games during the regular season, setting the stage for the two-game playoff series beginning Wednesday at the Hobbs Ice Center in Eau Claire.
 
The opening game of the series was another close one, tied 1-1 after 40 minutes before the Blugolds scored three times in the third to take the game 4-1 and move ahead 1-0 in the series.
 
It was all about the goaltenders early, as Rose Beeman (Minneapolis, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's School) of the Yellowjackets (4-5-0) and Stephanie Martin of Eau Claire turned aside one good scoring opportunity after another in the game. Beeman was particularly strong, making 26 saves through the first two periods and 35 saves in the game.
 
Eau Claire opened the scoring at 5:01 of the first period when Ella Ierino scored on a rebound.
 
It stayed that way until the middle stages of the second period when the Yellowjackets took advantage of an extended power play to tie the game. Amanda Sergent (Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines) took the initial shot that Martin got a piece of, but Megan Dulong (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) was camped at the side of the net and she put the loose puck home to make it a 1-1 game. Amber Heidenreich (Phillips, Wis./Hayward) also assisted on the play.
 
The Blugolds took the lead for good at 3:24 of the third period when Ierino scored her second of the game on the power play. Eau Claire got some insurance at 8:58 of the third period, making it a 3-1 game when Danielle Slominski scored. Maddy Jablonski closed out the scoring for Eau Claire, scoring into an empty net with under a minute to play, making the final score 4-1.
 
The teams were even on special teams, with each going 1-for-3 on the power play.
 
Eau Claire outshot the Yellowjackets 39-25 in the game.
 
The Yellowjackets and Eau Claire will play the second game of their semifinal series Friday, March 12 at the Hobbs Ice Center in Eau Claire. The opening face-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. The Yellowjackets would need a win in the regulation game to force a mini-game. The winner of the mini-game would be the winner of the series and advance to the WIAC championship next week.