SPORTS
UW women’s hockey skates to weekend split
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Monday, February 16, 2004
The No. 4 UW women’s hockey team (18-5-3, 14-5-1) split a pair of road games against No. 2 Minnesota this weekend, falling 2-1 Saturday after winning 2-1 in overtime Friday.
Friday’s loss ended the Badgers’ 10-game unbeaten streak, the longest streak in the nation, and leaves Wisconsin and Minnesota tied for the top spot in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).
The Golden Gophers struck first on a goal from sophomore Krissy Wendell, who was a member of the 2002 US Olympic team. Minnesota’s Kelly Stephens and Krista Johnson picked up assists as the Gophers jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 13:57 mark.
The Badgers answered just 25 seconds later, when freshman Lindsay Macy beat Minnesota goalkeeper Brenda Reinen to tie the game at 1-1. Macy, a Minnesota native, recorded her sixth goal in the past seven games.
Though Minnesota out-shot Wisconsin 15-8 overall and 6-0 on power plays in the opening period, the game moved into the second frame tied 1-1. The stalemate continued until the 6:43 mark of the third period, when Minnesota junior Noelle Sutton scored the game-winning goal.
Despite a pair of penalties against Wendell that gave the Badgers two power plays in the final period, Wisconsin was unable to beat Reinen and the strong Minnesota defense. Reinen finished with 27 saves in a dominant performance.
In a losing effort, UW goalkeeper Meghan Horras, who leads the nation with a 1.16 goals against average, recorded 36 saves.
In Friday’s contest, the Badgers earned a dramatic overtime victory as junior captain Carla MacLeod scored the game-winner with an unassisted goal.
“After the first seven or eight minutes, we played a pretty solid game and I was happy with their effort,” Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson said. “You get into overtime, anything can happen and we were able to get the goal to give us the victory.”
Neither team scored in the opening period, though Macy threatened to put the Badgers ahead on a breakaway shot that beat Gopher goaltender Jody Horak but hit the crossbar and bounced wide.
“The first period was very entertaining, not many whistles, no penalties, it was a lot of up and down hockey,” Johnson said.
In the second stanza, the Gophers took the lead when Wendell capitalized on a Badgers’ holding penalty to score a power play goal at the 14:24 mark.
Minnesota held the advantage for just three minutes before UW freshman Sara Bauer tied the game with her sixth goal of the year at the 17:07 mark. Macy and Minnesota native Sharon Cole picked up assists on the play.
Early in the third period, Minnesota went on the power play after Wisconsin was whistled for tripping. But the Badgers’ penalty-killing unit kept the Gophers at bay, denying Minnesota’s high-powered offense its second power-play goal of the game.
The Gophers recorded a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal in the third stanza, but the score remained tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime.
After the puck slid into the Badgers’ zone, MacLeod trapped it and fired a shot into the corner of the net to record the game-winning goal 2:20 into the extra frame. MacLeod’s game-winner sent the Badgers bench onto the ice to celebrate a dramatic victory.
In the win, Wisconsin goaltender Horras collected 20 saves, while Gopher Horak posted 24 saves in the loss.
“Overall, it was a good game…It’s good entertainment, and it’s just a big win for us,” Johnson said.
