This past weekend, the No. 2 University of Wisconsin Women’s hockey team (28-4-0, 18-4 WCHA) traveled up to Duluth, Minnesota where they took on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (13-15-2, 9-11-2) in their second meeting of the season.
Both teams played hard and showed their talents, but the Badgers were able to sweep their opponent for the second weekend in a row.
In their matchup Friday, the Badgers took a commanding lead early, going up 4–0 after just two periods with two goals from Emily Clark and one from both Annie Pankowski and Presley Norby.
The Badgers were relentless offensively, taking 44 shots on goal opposed to the Bulldogs mere 20.
Clark led the way offensively for the Badgers, setting the tone by scoring the opening goal just under four minutes into the game. She continued to assert her offensive dominance later in the second period with another goal, making this her third game of the season scoring more than one goal.
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The Bulldogs responded with a goal of their own to start off the third period but it proved to be too late as the Badgers were able to take game one decisively, winning 6–1 with third period Badger goals coming from Sophie Shirley and Sam Cogan.
In the second game of the weekend, the Badgers showed that there is more to hockey than just offense.
Wisconsin’s defense, led by goalie Kristen Campbell, seemed virtually unstoppable.
Campbell recorded her seventh shutout on the season and racked up 24 saves while her teammates attacked the Bulldogs relentlessly.
The Badgers had 28 more shots on goal than the Bulldogs, extending their margin from the previous game.
After a scoreless first, the Badgers were able to take the lead by scoring two goals in the second period — coming from Alexis Mauermann and Clark.
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The game ended with the Badgers defeating the Bulldogs 3–0 — the third goal coming from Cogan.
Wisconsin left Duluth with a clean sweep of both the weekend and of this season’s matchups against the Bulldogs.
With the Badgers’ wins over the Bulldogs, they were able to move past the Minnesota Gophers in the conference standings and are now back on top of the WCHA.
Wisconsin has also reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the nation with just one series left to play before the WCHA tournament.
The Badgers will play their last regular season series at home next weekend against the No. 10 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Friday’s game time is at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s is at 3 p.m.
Wisconsin will look to extend the win streak to seven as they head into the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Watch the game on BTN plus or listen live on 100.9 FM, Badger Radio Network.
