The top-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team took three out of a possible four points in a weekend battle with No. 2 Minnesota.
The Badgers relied on good team defense, incredible goaltending and timely goal scoring to win the Border Battle against the Gophers and maintain first place in the WCHA.
Captains Erika Lawler, Meghan Duggan and Jessie Vetter responded to the Badgers’ first test of the season with impressive performances. The quick and talented Gophers ultimately could not curb the Wisconsin captains as they helped lead UW to a crucial series victory.
Vetter, Wisconsin’s goaltender, stopped 60 of the 62 shots she faced on the weekend; a two-time all-WCHA goalie, she neutralized a relentless Gophers attack and provided the Badgers with the edge they needed to win the series. Vetter weathered an early barrage of shots in both games to prevent the Badgers from falling behind early. Wisconsin was outshot 62-41 on the series.
“I just have to hang on as long as I can and give the team a chance to win, and they definitely responded well in the third period and played awesome,” Vetter said following the Badgers’ come-from-behind victory on Saturday.
Vetter also applauded the courageous performance of Minnesota freshman goalie Alyssa Grogan. Grogan stopped 14 shots and shut out three Badgers in the Gopher’s Friday shootout win. Despite Grogan’s performance on Friday, the Gophers continued their goalie rotation as senior Jenny Lura started Saturday.
“She is a very good goaltender. I’ve always been impressed with her; she plays really well. She did very well in the shootout to get [the Gophers] the extra point,” Vetter said of Grogan.
After Vetter’s 33-save performance on Friday night, Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson mentioned how important it is to his team’s success to have a goalie like Vetter.
“She played well,” Johnson said. “When we break down, or they create a scoring opportunity, Jessie does a nice job.”
Lawler’s shorthanded goal in the third period on Saturday was the game-winner and a turning point in the game. Lawler took a pass from defenseman Malee Windmeier, snuck around a surprised Gopher defender and beat Lura with a shot just under the crossbar. It was Lawler’s third goal of the season. She also had an assist earlier in the period. Lawler is Wisconsin’s sixth-leading scorer of all time.
“I didn’t have too much time to think about it, which is probably a good thing,” Lawler said. “Malee head-manned it to me, the quick transition did it for us, and I got it and went as fast I could, and their defenseman got caught a little flat-footed. I was almost thinking I was going to take a slap shot from the outside, but luckily things went our way.”
Duggan has a reputation of stepping up in big games, especially those against the Gophers, and she did not disappoint this weekend as her goal on Friday sent the game into overtime. Duggan’s fourth goal of the season came on a power play when her wrist shot from the point found its way to the back of the net.
“The puck squirted out to Hilary [Knight], who cycled it Erika [Lawler] who brought it out top,” Duggan said. “I just shot it, and there was a lot of chaos out front, and one of their players went down to block it, and it got redirected into the back of the net.”
Duggan, the team’s top returning goal scorer from last year, has 13 points against the Gophers in 13 career games.
“It is a huge rivalry throughout the university; everyone has a little extra chip on their shoulder. It’s always a battle,” Duggan said after Friday’s shootout loss.
