SUPERIOR, Wis. – For the Yellowjacket women's hockey team, the last two months have been among the busiest in program history.

After going nearly eight weeks where they only played once, the 'Jackets have faced a grueling game schedule of late. Between Feb. 1 and Sunday, the Yellowjackets have played eight times, including the last three days in a row and four times in the last five days.
 
Late Sunday afternoon the Yellowjackets faced another stiff test, squaring off against UW-Eau Claire for the second time in less than a week. The Blugolds came in riding a six-game winning streak, their last loss coming in a non-conference game Jan. 8. Eau Claire is also among the stingiest teams in the nation, having allowed just 18 goals on the year heading into Sunday.
 
The Yellowjackets hung with the Blugolds early, but the No. 5-ranked team in the nation wore the 'Jackets down on the way to a 4-0 win Sunday at Wessman Arena. The Yellowjackets (7-12-1, 2-4-0 WIAC) stayed with Eau Claire stride-for-stride through the first two periods, with the only blemishes on the scoreboard being a pair of last-minute goals.
 
In the first period the teams traded opportunities, but goaltenders Stephanie Miller of Eau Claire and Molly Black (Devils Lake, N.D./Devils Lake) of the Yellowjackets denied all comers in the first. It looked like the Yellowjackets were going to get out of the first period scoreless until the waning seconds. With 48.1 seconds left in the period, Eau Claire's Hattie Verstegen snapped a shot from the left circle that beat Black high on the glove side, making it 1-0.
 
It stayed that way until the final minute of the second period when Verstegen delivered a real back breaker to the Yellowjackets. Taylar Meier took a shot from the high slot that hit the crossbar behind Black, and Verstegen was able to find the loose puck and pound home the rebound to make the score 2-0 through two periods.
 
With the goalie pulled for a delayed penalty, Eau Claire had the extra attacker on and scored again to increase the lead. Emma Peterson make it 3-0 when she scored from the right circle at 8:27. A few minutes later Eau Claire struck again, with Meier scoring at 11:46 to make it a 4-0 game.
 
That was more than enough offense for Eau Claire, who posted a shutout for the sixth time in its last seven games.
 
Black was making just her second start of the 2021-22 season and she was very strong in goal for the Yellowjackets. She employed strong rebound control and finished the game with 27 saves, but her record on the year fell to 1-1-0.
 
The Yellowjackets will now get a few days off before closing out the regular season with a two-game series against Northland. The series opener will be Friday, Feb. 18 with a 7 p.m. face-off at Wessman Arena.