The Wisconsin women’s hockey team had its school record and national-best nine-game winning streak snapped Saturday when third-ranked Minnesota beat UW 2-0 at the Capitol Ice Arena.
UW had extended its streak to nine games with a 2-1 victory over Minnesota on Friday, but the Badgers were unable to keep the streak alive in the second game of the series. UW held an 8-5 shot advantage through the first period, but it was Minnesota that took a first-period lead. With 47 seconds remaining in the period, Winny Brodt fed Natalie Darwitz inside the Minnesota zone along the right boards. Darwitz shot the puck cross-ice and off the far boards between the red line and the UW blue line.
The puck got behind a UW defender, and La Toya Clarke skated onto it for a breakaway. The junior beat Wisconsin’s Jackie MacMillan along the ice to the blocker side for her eighth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead. Macmillan had stopped each of the Gophers’ four shots prior to that point.
Shots were hard to come by in the second period, with Wisconsin holding a 6-3 advantage. Like a mirror of the first period, Minnesota scored the only goal when Clarke redirected Brodt’s centering pass from the right outside hashmark. Ronda Curtin also assisted on the 7:06 power-play score.
Although the Badgers continued to out-shoot the Gophers, Minnesota capitalized on UW defensive lapses.
The two Minnesota goals finished the scoring for the night, though UW outshot the Gophers 14-9 in the final stanza but failed to put one past Minnesota goaltender Jody Horak. The Badgers were given a penalty for having too many players on the ice at 16:57 and killed the power play successfully.
Wisconsin outshot the Gophers for the game 28-17 but went 0 for 2 on the power play. Minnesota converted on one of its two power-play chances.
MacMillan made 15 saves but fell to 21-7-5, while Horak stopped all 28 Wisconsin shots and improved to 22-4-0.
The Badgers beat Minnesota in the first game of its series this weekend behind the play of captain Sis Paulsen
Paulsen scored on a close shot at 9:25 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie in Wisconsin’s 2-1 victory over Minnesota.
Minnesota appeared to play most of the first period with a territorial advantage but failed to generate any good scoring chances.
The Badgers struck first in the game when Kathy Devereaux tallied the game’s first goal. Carla MacLeod fed Kedra Antony in the neutral zone to start the rush. Devereaux streaked by Antony, taking the pass down the right boards and past a Gopher defender. The senior drove to the net and beat Minnesota netminder Jody Horak with a backhand for her eighth goal of the season. The score came at 9:09.
Minnesota evened the game at 16:01 of the second period when Kelly Stephens converted a rebound into a goal. Natalie Darwitz skated outside a UW defender and fired a shot on Wisconsin’s Jackie MacMillan. The senior made the first save, but the Badgers left Stephens alone to score on the rebound. The sophomore slipped it past MacMillan for her 17th of the year.
Paulsen gave the Badgers back the lead at 9:25 of the third with a close shot for her seventh goal of the season. Sharon Cole fed Grace Hutchins along the right boards, who passed the puck on to Paulsen at the point. With the puck on edge, Paulsen took a slap shot that beat Horak to the far side.
Wisconsin held the Gophers in check the rest of the way and had two chances to add to the lead, but Karen Rickard’s shot sailed just wide of an open far post and Antony was stopped from in close. Minnesota pulled its goaltender for the final 30 seconds, but failed to score.
No. 6 Wisconsin (21-7-5, 14-6-4 WCHA) looks to keep its NCAA Frozen Four hopes alive when it hits the road for the 2003 WCHA Women’s Final Five at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. The third-seeded Badgers will face second-seeded Minnesota for the third consecutive time Friday at 4:05 p.m. in its semifinal.
— compiled from staff reports
