Women’s hockey sweeps Finlandia

The UW-River Falls women’s hockey team had a very successful conference series with Finlandia Dec. 9 and 10.

The Falcons outscored their opponent 7-2 and 6-0, respectively.

Junior Kelly Snedeker was named Player of the Week for her efforts over the weekend.

“We won both of our games against Finlandia this weekend which was huge,” Jenna Scanlon said. “It took a lot of team effort to put the puck away like we did and our goalie Amber Lindner got her third shutout of the season.”

Scanlon had nothing but good things to say about her team’s efforts over the weekend.

“I think we won both of our games this weekend because every player on our team got a chance to see the ice, and everyone played their role in our 2-0 weekend,” Scanlon said. “I think everyone played really well this weekend but Kelly Snedeker really stepped it up and had no problem putting the puck in the net with the help of her linemates.”

The Falcons played their final game before the break Wednesday night at Gustavus.

The women’s hockey team lost their final game of the first half, 1-0 on the road against Gustavus.

Overall, the season has been going well for the Falcons as their record sits well above .500.

“I think the season is going fantastic,” Mandi Mohwinkel said. “Everyone is excited to play every game and to come to practice every single day to try and work for a conference championship, and possibly a chance to get to the Frozen Four.”

When asked what advantage the Falcons had over their weekend opponent, Mohwinkel had a lot to say.

“Our pride and confidence ... We were very confident going into the weekend,” she said. “We are a team that truly enjoys to play the game itself rather than trying to beat the other team to a pulp so, in fact, having more focus on where the puck is going instead of finding the nearest player to hit gave us a huge advantage over Finlandia.”

Scanlon said the break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Falcons.

“I think I speak for everyone on our team when I say that we are all in need of a break. We have a lot of injuries and illness going around and it will be really nice to recover over the holidays,” Scanlon said. “I think one of our strongest aspects on our team has been fighting through the pain and it has really showed in our last few games, especially when we played at Steven’s Point and left their place with a win and a tie.”

Kacie Anderson agreed with Scanlon.

“I think that a break will be nice for us. It’s always good to go home and get your mind away from the game a bit, otherwise it is overwhelming with school and everything going on,” she said.  “J-term should be a lot of fun for us, since the only worry we will have is hockey.”

The Falcons’ next game will be at 2:05 p.m. on Jan. 6 at Hunt Arena. The team will be taking on Bethel.