With a chance to tie division rival Minnesota-Duluth for second place in the WCHA, the Wisconsin women’s hockey team came up shy, tying the Bulldogs 2-2 and falling in the shootout, 2-0.
After an impressive 3-1 victory over UMD Friday, the Badgers narrowed the gap between them and the Bulldogs to two points in the WCHA standings. However, despite much resiliency, the Badgers could not overcome a decidedly more aggressive UMD squad on Sunday.
UW interim head coach Tracey DeKeyser anticipated UMD to turn up the volume a little more after playing unexpectedly in more of a zone defense that yielded three goals to the Badgers.
“They had uncharacteristic play on Friday — we were kind of shocked that we were able to handle them quite as easily as we did,” DeKeyser said. “We knew (on Sunday) it would be a one-goal game, and there it was.”
Both teams began with stout defenses, but it was the Bulldogs who delivered the first bite. Late in the first period, Emmanuelle Blais scored off a rebound to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the series.
Wisconsin returned from intermission with a nasty bite of its own, scoring two goals in less than three minutes. Senior Emily Kranz fed the puck to a wide-open Brianna Decker, who shot it straight past UMD goalie Jennifer Harss for the tying goal.
“It was a great play,” Decker said. “Kranz picked off the pass coming off the board, then she heard me yell for her in the slot, and then I shot it high and it was a great goal.”
Shortly after, Wisconsin took advantage of a power play when sophomore Carolyn Prevost connected with junior Geena Prough, who lasered it from near the blue line to give Wisconsin a 2-1 advantage heading into the second intermission.
“I got the pass and we were on a power play, so the girl gave me a lane and I had traffic in front, so I just shot it and it went in,” Prough said.
Prough’s goal marked Wisconsin’s second capitalization on power plays in the series, something that the team has struggled with all season.
The two teams returned to hard-nosed defense in the third period. After 13 minutes of scoreless play, UMD’s Jessica Wong scored from the center of the face-off circles to ensure overtime.
After a scoreless overtime, the Bulldogs clinched the advantage, edging the Badgers 2-0 in the shootout.
With the shootout win, the Bulldogs earned an extra point in the WCHA standings, which now leaves Wisconsin three points behind UMD for second place.
Friday marked the first time the two teams faced each other since Wisconsin topped the Bulldogs 5-1 on March 20 in the Frozen Four en route to a national championship.
Afterwards, many of the players expressed respect for the high talent of their rivals, while also valuing the experience of playing against them in such close games as they expect to see the Bulldogs again in the postseason.
“I think it’s a pretty even matchup,” Decker said. “We both have a lot of offense and a lot of defense and great goaltenders. It’s going to be a great rivalry for the rest of year and for the rest of the my college career.”
