The UW women’s hockey team has notched its 100th win in the programs history.
Riding a seven-game unbeaten streak but missing three key players, UW (17-4-3, 13-4-1) hosted foe Minnesota State (13-9-3, 6-7-3) for a weekend series, winning both games.
UW improved to 19-0-1 all-time against MSU by posting a 3-0 win Saturday before completing the series sweep with a 4-1 win Sunday.
By claiming all four points from the Mavericks, the Badgers pulled themselves even with league leader Minnesota as they look ahead to a trip to the Twin Cities for a clash that likely will determine the conference champion.
Badger head coach Mark Johnson started his red-hot second line for Sunday’s game. The move paid nearly instant dividends as the freshmen connection of Sara Bauer and Lindsay Macy combined to put Wisconsin on top 1-0 just 11 seconds into the game. Bauer, who took the opening face-off and skated straight through the Minnesota State defense, had her shot stopped by Maverick goalie Shari Vogt, but Macy followed the play and tapped the rebound home for the quick strike.
“It’s not a rocket scientist move,” Johnson said of his decision to start the second line. “[Bauer’s line] were playing well.”
The quick strike theme continued in the second period as the Badgers scored just 19 seconds in. Again it was Bauer who took the opening face-off and skated in on the Maverick net-minder only to be turned away at the doorstep. The puck squirted free on the rebound and sat in the crease for nearly two seconds before junior captain Carla MacLeod dove in to tip the puck into the net.
The Mavericks got one back just two minutes into the third period when a long shot by Sammy Miller skipped past Badger goalie Christine Dufour. The goal revived the Minnesota State attack and brought MSU within one at 2-1.
However, the Mavericks’ celebration was short lived as Bauer and her line mates struck again just 30 seconds later. Bauer picked up a loose puck, skated in on the goal and slid the puck just inside the pipe to regain the Badgers’ two-goal advantage. Though no assist was given on the play, Sharon Cole’s battle along the boards sprung the puck free for Bauer to pick up.
“That’s a huge goal, it really made the difference,” Johnson said. “At 2-1 it’s just a matter of a bad bounce, so that third goal is a real big one.”
The goal gave Bauer her fourth point of the weekend (1 goal and 3 assists) and along with Macy (2 goals) and Cole, Wisconsin’s second line proved to be the strongest for the Badger’s all weekend.
Wisconsin added an empty net goal with just three seconds left in the game as Nikki Burish directed the puck into the net after Molly Engstrom flipped the puck the length of the ice to give Wisconsin their 4-1 lead.
While UW didn’t play as well Saturday afternoon, the team made the most out of its opportunities and walked away with a 3-0 victory. Forcing two turnovers at the Mavericks blue line that resulted in a pair of goals and adding a goal on the power-play, the Badgers found a way to win.
After a scoreless first period, Wisconsin finally cracked the Minnesota State defense when Nicole Uliasz intercepted a pass near the Maverick blue line. Teammate Amy Vermeulen took a drop pass from Uliasz but shot the puck wide. Uliasz was able to skate the puck down and slip a pass back to Vermeulen, who buried the puck in the back of the net.
The Badger’s freshmen connection got their first goal of the weekend when Bauer intercepted a pass and set up Macy with a breakaway opportunity. Macy used a beautiful deke move to freeze the Mavericks’ goaltender and easily slid the puck into the net to give the Badgers a 2-0 lead midway through the second period.
The Badgers sealed the victory 13 minutes into the third period when senior Karen Rickard took a rebound from a Molly Engstrom blast and lifted it over the MSU goalie’s shoulder.
Meghan Horras, the Badger between the pipes, stopped all 13 shots she faced to preserve the shutout.
“[Minnesota State] is a good team, they’re the number nine team in the country and they’re coming off a big win against Minnesota,” Johnson said. “They had a week off to prepare for us and just came out with more energy.”
