The UW-Eau Claire women’s hockey team left the ice with another victory this past weekend in Winona, Minnesota against the St. Mary’s Cardinals, earning their fifth win of the season with a final score of 3-1.

Courtney Wittig, a junior forward, said she believed the game went well and it was a strong performance after Thanksgiving break.

“We focused on certain things for that game, and we succeeded those,” Wittig said. “I’m looking forward to where the team is going. We’re headed in the right direction as of right now.”

Holly Turnbull, a junior forward, scored an unassisted goal in the first 36 seconds of the game, giving the Blugolds an initial lead over the Cardinals.

With 12 shots on goal from Eau Claire and seven from St. Mary’s, neither team scored for the rest of the first period.

The second period was a time of more action on goal for both teams. At the two-minute mark, Courtney Wittig, a junior forward, scored with the assist of teammate Monica Sjodin, a junior defensemen.

Wittig then scored again at the 11:25 mark — this time with an assist from teammate Lauren Norgren, a senior defensemen. The duo raised the score to 3-0 for the Blugolds.

The Cardinals then proceeded to put the puck at the back of the net at 19:16, closing out the second period with a score of 3-1.

Although there were 11 shots on goal from the Blugolds and five from the Cardinals during the third period, neither team successfully scored. This left the game at a 3-1 win for Eau Claire.

Mariah Czech, a senior forward, said the Blugolds fared well despite the rough atmosphere of the game, keeping the puck in their grasp.

“The game was physical, but we controlled the tempo,” Czech said.

Saturday’s game was yet another match in which the women outshot their competition, with a total of 39 shots on goal over the Cardinals’ 21 shots.

Erin Connolly, a sophomore goaltender, made a total of 20 saves throughout the duration of the game.

Czech said through continued teamwork and practice, she is looking forward to what the team can accomplish.

“We have to own the blue lines and get pucks deep — that’s the key to our game,” Czech said. “If we do that and work together as a team, we will be just fine. I’m excited to carry that momentum into December.”

The women will take the ice again at 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 5  in a road game against Hamline University.