Falcons Claim Border Battle Cup with Shutout Victory

MEQUON, Wis. – It was a historic night inside the Ozaukee Ice Center on Saturday night. The CUW women's hockey team claimed the Border Battle Cup for the first time in program history with a 3-0 victory to even the weekend series and a 2-1 shootout victory to claim the cup.

The Falcons soar to 10-5-1 on the year and to 5-3-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. The Falcons have now reached the 10-win plateau for the third-straight season and for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

The first period saw both teams go 0-2 on the power play and head to the locker room tied at zero.

Freshman Jillian Tabaka (Maplewood, Minn.) stole the puck on the penalty kill in the second period and marched down the ice and snuck the puck past the keeper.

Special teams struck again 14 minutes later when sophomore Amanda Bauer (Waunakee, Wis.) scored on the power play off a pass from senior Emily Reimche (Billings, Mont.) and a faceoff victory from freshman Makayla Spejcher (Green Bay, Wis.).

That trio struck again in the third period when Bauer tapped in a rebound off a Reimche shot.

The Foresters tested senior Annalina Van Hercke (Castle Rock, Colo.) all night and had a handful of breakaways and quality opportunities, but the CUW senior proved to be a wall in her third shutout of the season and the eighth her career with 36 saves.

With the weekend series tied, a shootout was needed to determine the holder of the Border Battle Cup.

Makayla Spejcher struck first as she juked past the netminder to put the Falcons ahead.

Jillian Tabaka went five hole to put the Falcons up 2-0.

Annalina Van Hercke stopped the final two shots she faced to give the Falcons the cup.

The Falcons showed a lot of unselfish play on Saturday with 21 blocks. The Falcons were led by their captains with Emily Reimche finishing with five and senior Colleen Gilligan (Colborne, Ont.) with four.

The birds also held a slim shooting advantage at 37-36, with Makayla Spejcher leading the way with nine.

CUW won 36 of the 59 faceoffs, with Jillian Tabaka winning 17.

The Border Battle Cup dates back to 2015. The Foresters had won the cup in the previous seven meetings. The teams did not meet in 2021 due to COVID-19 scheduling.

The Falcons look to continue rolling next weekend against Aurora.