STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Northland College Women's Hockey team fell in its final game of 2024 5-0 to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Tuesday afternoon in Stevens Point, Wis.
 
Freshman goaltender Maddy Bliss had to make her first save 12 seconds in. The shots did not stop there with Bliss turning away the Pointers early. UW-Stevens Point took the lead after five minutes scoring stick side, before the Jills had their first shot on target. Karsen Nicksic had the first Northland shot with Kylie Schryer following it up with another shot that found the glove of Emily Griege. Natalie Ahern doubled the lead for UWSP after a centering pass found her right in front of the net. After the first period, Northland won 7-of-13 faceoffs with Nicksic and Kiera Fairnington both winning three.
 
Schyer had the first shot for NC in period two for Northland, coming after a UW-Stevens Point goal. Nicksic had a great opportunity to get the Jills on board after a pass found her right in front of the net but Griege turned the shot wide. Coming out of the media timeout the Pointers found the back of the net again. After 40 minutes Julia Fussy led the team with four shots on target.
 
It only took two minutes for Northland to tally its first shot of the third from Fussy, Hannah Chady followed up the shot with another on target. Northland was holding UW-Stevens Point to its fewest shots in a period in the third. In the final three minutes, the Pointers added a fifth off a back-handed shot. Schryer had the final Northland shot of the game but was unable to get past the goaltender resulting in a 5-0 loss.
 
As the periods progressed Northland spent more time in the UW-Steven Point zone and decreased their shots as well. The LumberJills totaled 16 shots on target with Fussy pacing the team. Schryer ended the game one behind with four. Kennedy Gruhlke was the other LumberJill with multiple shots tallying two.
 
The LumberJill defense blocked 20 shots with Chady matching her career-high of seven. Tate Hutchinson and Yvonne Durfee finished second on the team with three blocks. Bliss in net, made 44 saves ending the game with an 89.8 save percentage.
 
Northland Women's Hockey enters the winter break and will be back in action on Jan. 3, when they host Lake Forest College at 2 p.m.
 
Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, Midwest Lacrosse Conference, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.