The top-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team (25-2-1, 15-2-1 WCHA) recorded their second consecutive sweep this past weekend over St. Cloud State (5-20-4, 1-18-1) at home at LaBahn Arena.
The series marked the second time the Badgers faced the Huskies this season. Their first meeting ended in a UW road sweep with the unit handling their opponents to a tune of 5–3 and 6–2 victories. This time around, the team looked to build on the success that propelled them to a sweep against No. 2 Minnesota (21-5-3, 13-5-2) last weekend.
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The first game of the series got off to an immediate fiery start as sophomore Britta Curl scored on a power-play just 2:27 into the game off of a beautiful dish from junior Daryl Watts. Then, with around three minutes left in the first period, sophomore Sophie Shirley slotted one away to put the Badgers up 2–0 early on.
While the second period was a bit slower, the Badgers still managed to dominate time of possession while junior Grace Bowlby placed a banger top shelf with 7:29 on the clock to put the squad up 3–0.
The team scored twice more in the third period thanks to Curl tapping in a rebound for her second power-play goal of the night. Senior captain Mekenzie Steffen notched her sixth goal of the year to cap off the night for the Badgers.
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Wisconsin’s momentum carried over into the following game as eight different Badgers scored in the series finale Sunday. The scoring began less than a minute into the first period as senior Abby Roque slid the puck past the Husky goalie to open the scoring, while five other teammates got in on the scoring action in the first period alone.
While the second period saw the Badgers slow down this impressive scoring run, Curl did manage to score her fourth goal of the weekend on a power-play pass from Watts with 15:38 left in the period. Junior goaltender Breanna Blesi allowed one Husky shot to slip by her, resulting in the Huskies’ only goal on the weekend.
But, in the third period, the Badgers once again ramped up their scoring efforts, punching in four goals to extend their lead to 10. The game finished with a score of 11–1, marking the first time that the team has scored double-digits in LaBahn Arena since the arena opened in 2012.
The Badgers look to continue their stellar late-season play in their next series at Minnesota State this weekend. Puck drop is at 2:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, and the games can be followed live on Twitter @BadgerWHockey.
