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Hunting for a championship

By Tanner Orr, 03/02/17, 8:45AM CST

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UWEC womens' team has a great Wisconsin connection

Photos by Lynn Connolly

The UW-Eau Claire Women’s hockey team may just be the best kept secret in college hockey.  Surrounded by the successful in-state programs that have produced ten NCAA D-1 and twelve NCAA D-3 titles, the Blugolds have escaped sixteen years of mediocrity with a record setting 18-8-1 season.  A playoff series win over Stevens Point has propelled them into their first ever conference championship game.

Seniors Emma Silkey and Claudia Gagnon shed tears of joy as the team’s eighteenth win tied the number of wins they had accumulated in their first three seasons.  Their two playoff wins, made it three straight victories against the Pointers ending an unbearable six year, eighteen game winless streak against their in-state rivals. 

Gagnon a senior captain believes a lot of the credit belongs to her head coach Erik Strand, “Coach Strand has different expectations and with that it has impacted the overall culture of our team,” said the Duluth East graduate.  “The systems he has implemented have been customized to bring out the best of everyone.”

Wisconsin Connection

As surprising as the Blugolds marked improvement may be, even more notable may be the fact that the team’s resurgence has been powered by a core of home grown underclassmen.  In a game often dominated by the state of Minnesota, it is the Blugolds core of young badger state players that are leading the way.

When Strand was asked if his pursuit of Wisconsin players was intentional, he replied, “Absolutely.”  He credits former Blugolds’ men’s coach Luke Strand (no relation) for teaching him the value of the Wisconsin player.   

“Being around Luke opened my eyes to the level of pride that I believe Wisconsin hockey players compete with, especially when they are playing for a team that represents their home state, offered Strand, the 2016 WIAC Coach of the Year.  “Hockey players from Wisconsin who have the talent to make the jump from high school to the college level are equally as good as the players who I watch from other states.  My vision is to create a situation where players have a goal to play Division I for the Badgers, but if their route takes them to Division III, their first choice will be UW – Eau Claire.”

The Blugolds current crop of home grown products includes Kelly Knetter, Elizabeth and Emily Bauer from Wausau, Holly Turnbull and Karin Knapp from Hayward, Sydney Schneider, Chippewa Falls, Courtney Wittig from Green Bay and Erin Connolly from Mequon.  Knetter, a blue collar forward and Wittig, a blue-chip goal scorer, both transferred to Eau Claire.

While all of Strand’s recruits possess obvious talent to play the game he is always looking for more. 

“The most important traits I look for in players starts with being good people off the ice, extremely competitive, play with pride, work hard, and are coachable on the ice,” he explained.  Regarding his four Wisconsin recruits he added, “I think all four also have good hockey IQ’s that separate them compared to similar players by being able to play within our system, but also know when to be hockey players and play outside of it.”

The Blugolds “Wisconsin Connection” begins with Wisconsin’s 2016 Miss Hockey, goaltender Erin Connolly, a freshman from Mequon and Homestead High School.  Competing with two other freshmen goaltenders, the lanky Connolly turned the page and quickly established herself as the team’s number one goalie.

“I don't think I felt any additional pressure coming in with that honor (Miss Hockey), besides maybe that I had something to prove,” Connolly recalled.  “It was incredible to have that moment at the end of my high school career, but now that we're in college, it doesn’t matter what we were or what we did in high school, everyone starts with a clean slate.”

Connolly has anchored the team starting twenty-four games and posting an impressive 1.61 GAA and 91.9 save percentage.  Her head coach calls her, “calm, consistent and humble.”  She has been exactly the type of character player he targets. 

“She works hard every day in the classroom and on the ice,” noted Strand.  “I think her focus and determination are always on display.  She is always working to become better regardless of what it is she is working on.”   

Working in front of Connolly is Hayward product Holly Turnbull.  After playing two seasons with the Hurricanes, and winning a state championship in 2013, she moved on to play with the Madison Capitals Tier I - AAA team.  The sophomore defenseman plays on the Blugolds top defensive pair with freshman Sami Meister.  She is the team’s top scoring defenseman with five goals, three of those coming in the playoff sweep of Stevens Point. 

Heavily recruited, Turnbull turned down several D-1 offers to stay close to home and to play for Strand.  She remembers her decision process well.  “My parents thought I was nuts!  But I knew in my heart that I didn't want to go far away from home.”  Then she leaned on the wisdom of her older brother who played for the Badgers.  “When I spoke with him, he told me the most important thing is that you have to be happy to succeed.  When I heard coach Strand was taking the position, I knew this was the place for me,” acknowledged Turnbull. “He is not only a great coach, but a great person. He made my choice easy.”

With only one recruiting class under his belt, Turnbull is confident that Strand is assembling a team that can be successful.  “He (Strand) is starting to bring in the pieces of the puzzle to win, said Turnbull. “The biggest difference from this year to last year, is the team buy in. We not only are held accountable by coach, we are taught to hold ourselves accountable.” 

On the offensive side, forwards Kelly Knetter and Elizabeth Bauer from Wausau along with Courtney Wittig, Green Bay, comprise the team’s top scoring line with a combined 29 goals and 25 assists.  Knetter, a transfer from Stevens Point and Wittig, a transfer from Marian, have been pivotal additions to the Blugolds offense.  Both were WIAA state champs for their respective high school programs, Knetter with the Storm in 2012 and Wittig with Bay Area Ice Bears in 2014.

Before the former high school adversaries could become teammates , some old grudges had to be settled.  For the Bauer twins and Knetter, all members of the Central Wisconsin Storm, there was a Wittig overtime breakaway goal at the state tournament and for Wittig a 45 game winning streak stopped by the Storm. 

As newcomers to campus life in September, Wittig and the Bauers found themselves spending a lot of time together.  “There was this elephant in the room,” according to Elizabeth, “basically how much we hated each other in high school.”   

“It took a couple of weeks and a night of sting pong to get all of our anger out,” recalls Emily.  “Though in practice I still cringe when she scores on a breakaway… but I would rather be playing with her than against her!”

“It’s funny,” said Wittig, “but now I can’t picture not being friends and teammates with them.  I never thought I would ever say that.”

Wittig, a proven goal scorer, accumulated 121 goals in 101 high school games, leads the team with sixteen goals.  As a freshman at Marian she scored fourteen.  Despite missing a couple of games with an ankle injury, Wittig has nearly twice as many shots on goal, 132, than anyone else on the team.  Turnbull is next with 67. 

The emotional sparkplug of the team, Knetter has earned the respect of her teammates.  “The energy, positivity, and heart she brings every day are things that every team needs in the locker room and on the ice,” noted Connolly, who briefly played with Knetter on Team Wisconsin.  Her line mate Elizabeth Bauer agreed, “Kelly is definitely one of the hardest working girls on our team.”

At center, Elizabeth Bauer, the Wausau East grad, leads the team in scoring with nineteen points, including a team high 13 assists.  She also leads the team in powerplay goals with five.  After putting up a combined 120 points with her twin sister Emily as seniors in high school, she has had to learn to play without her left wing sibling.  The two have not played together since early in the season.

“My senior year of high school we played together the whole year and we both just know where the other one is going to be,” according to Elizabeth.   Not playing with her has been hard just because I've never played with anyone as predictable as her, which is something you want with your line mates.”

Communication has been a key to the lines success according to Knetter, “We strive to make each other better at practice by being open with one another,” she said.  “Though we are some of the most competitive players, we are able to communicate with each other giving constructive criticism.  Also, there isn't a time when you won't find us laughing, as Coach Strand says religiously ‘you gotta be able to have fun’.”  

Sydney Schneider, a junior from Chippewa Falls, is hard working forward that brings grit to the line-up every night.

She is another of the Wisconsin players that shows the “competitive edge” edge Strand talks about.  Knapp, a state champion in Hayward, has been a reserve for much of the season.

Emily Bauer has contributed five goals and nine points while moving up and down and in and out of the line-up.  Adjusting to the pace and complexities of the college game took time, but she has proven her value in the 14-3 record when she is in the line-up and 4-5-1 when she isn’t.  The diminutive forward, who led the state in assists with forty-five as a senior, scored the game winning goal on a breakaway in the Blugolds second victory over River Falls. 

Amid the Blugolds resurrection, it has gone largely unnoticed that they are the only team to beat 3rd ranked River Falls (25-2) this year.  Handing the 2016 NCAA D-3 Runner-up two losses has been an especially significant milestone considering it ended a forty-two game winless streak against the Falcons.  For the seniors it was an extra special moment.  Gagnon put it into words, “For me, beating River Falls back in November was awesome, but beating them again on senior night is my highlight of this season. Emma and I have given everything to this program so to be able to leave here and say that we beat River Falls will be something I will always be proud of.” 

While the in-state core has put up impressive numbers, it is the Blugolds balance that has been one of the keys to their success.  Unlike the River Falls duo of Carly Moran and Dani Sibley, who together account for thirty-nine percent of their team’s goals, Strand’s team has spread the scoring out.  Each night the team seems to find a different contributor to the offensive production.  After Wittig’s team leading sixteen goals, the next nine top scorers have between four and seven goals.

Knetter understands the team’s success goes much deeper than the scoresheet.  “It is essential that it is noted that we wouldn't be in this position without our upperclassmen.  From the day I came to Eau Claire and stepped foot on the ice I was welcomed with open arms.  From that moment, I knew exactly who I was going to be playing hard for every practice and every game,” said an emotional Knetter.  “I believe that is what separates us from other teams.”

The Family that Hunts Together

A renovation as dramatic as the one the Blugold women are experiencing doesn’t happen by accident.  It takes a leader with the personality and vision to completely turn around a program that some believed was on the verge of folding.  On the lady Blugolds Facebook page you will find a photo of a pride of lions and the motto “Surround yourself with those on the same mission as you.”  The season long hunt for victories and a championship has been the mantra installed by Strand and assistant coach Taylor G. Ward. 

“I have been very fortunate to have Coach Ward as my assistant coach,” Strand emphasized.  “He puts in so much time behind the scenes and has had a large hand in helping us get to the point that we are at right now.”

From Bloomington, Minnesota, Strand played 104 games for the Blugolds and was an assistant coach in 2013 when the Eau Claire men won a national championship.  That experience with the men’s program laid the blueprint for his current challenge.

Strand explained, “The work that Coach Mat Loen, Bob Thorp and I put in to build the men's program into a National Champion wasn't perfect.  We made our fair share of mistakes along the way.  Those mistakes turned into lessons learned and I have been very conscientious about not repeating them.  We are further ahead than I thought we would be at this point, but that has only been possible because of the heart and work ethic of the student athletes who chose to become part of our Blugold hockey family.”

Strand’s positive personality that features honesty and diligence and his commitment to recruiting in Wisconsin has been the key to bringing top state players to Eau Claire.  The energetic head coach has clearly changed the course of the program and won over the confidence of his players.

“Coach's passion and work ethic is contagious, and I look forward to every practice,” said Turnbull.

Connolly had talked with seven different schools, but it was Strand that made the difference in her decision.  She recalled her first impressions with her future head coach.    

“From the first time I met with him in person about potentially playing for Eau Claire, I knew that UWEC was one of my top choices. I absolutely loved his philosophy as a coach and I was more than excited to be a part of a redeveloping program.  One of the main reasons I made the decision to come to Eau Claire was because of the obvious passion Coach Strand has for building the team into a championship worthy program.”

Predicted to finish last in the WIAC this season, the overachieving Blugolds came within a last second goal of sending the deciding game for the regular season conference championship into overtime.  With only two seniors and five juniors it is very possible that the Blugolds best is yet to come. 

“As a freshman it is exciting because it means there are going to be more records to break and that the bar will be set higher every season,” predicted Emily Bauer. 

“What we have on this team is special,” said Connolly, “and playing my first season of college hockey with this group has been such an amazing experience.  I can't wait to see what we can do together in the years to come.”

“We are not satisfied by any means, but we are putting UW-Eau Claire's women's hockey back on the map,” boasted an always enthusiastic Knetter.

And for the head of the Blugold women’s hockey family, “It has been watching 27 hockey players at the end of a game with absolute joy and emotion due to the results of working for and accomplishing common program goals, ”Strand observed.  “It has truly been a privilege to work with and be part of this program every day!” 

“I found my second family here,” said Knetter.   

For the UW-Eau Claire women’s hockey program the pride is back.  And the hunt for a championship is on.