Posted at 11:00 p.m. 2/5/10

The UW-Eau Claire women’s hockey team traveled to Lake Forest (Ill.) to play a two-game series against its Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) rival last weekend. The Foresters entered the weekend double-header with a 7-1-2 NCHA record, which put them on top of the NCHA standings, while the Blugolds entered the game with a 4-2-2 NCHA record.

In the first game, Lake Forest scored one goal in the first period and two in the second before the Blugolds found the back of the net. Junior Meghan Lorenz scored on a power play at the 6:32 mark in the third period. It took only eleven seconds for Lake Forest to push its lead back up to three goals.

At the 17:31 mark of the third period sophomore Toni Simones recorded her second assist of the game when freshman Allison Malecek recorded her first goal of the game, and second of the season. Less than a minute later the Foresters once again gave themselves some cushion with a fifth goal.

In the second game, it was the Blugolds who struck first. At the 9:47 mark in the first period senior Beth Dittrich recorded a short-handed goal to give Eau Claire the early 1-0 lead. Junior Kristen Faber was credited with an assist on the play, giving her 75 points in her career – tying the all-time Blugold mark previously held by Amanda Shultz.

The Blugolds then gave up three goals before scoring again. Junior Christine Dickinson’s goal at the 11:09 mark in the second period cut the Foresters’ lead to one goal. Following another Lake Forest goal, Faber once again recorded an assist — giving her 76 career points and sole possession of the record – in the third period.

“If I score two goals a night . and we lose it doesn’t really count for much,” Faber said.

The third period was a high scoring one, with the two teams combining for five goals. Unfortunately for Eau Claire, their comeback attempt fell short as they eventually lost 5-7. The pair of losses dropped Eau Claire’s NCHA record to 4-4-2, and its overall record to 9-7-3.

“I don’t know if there was one thing that we really did well that entire weekend,” Faber said. “It was kind of an all-around bad weekend. We didn’t play like we can and I think the results showed that.”

The Blugolds have a chance to move up in the standings, however, as they play a pair of home games against NCHA rival UW-Stevens Point this weekend.

“Those games are going to be huge coming down the stretch here,” Faber said. “I think we just need to get as many points as we can.”