Wisconsin remains undefeated as they tally 8 goals in game 2.
The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (13-0-1, 9-0-1 WCHA) hosted The Bemidji State Beavers (2-6-2, 1-6-1) over this past weekend. La Bahn Arena held two very different games that saw Wisconsin come out victorious in both.
The first game was a tight one throughout and eventually went into a shootout. Wisconsin dominated the scoreboard in virtually every meaningful statistic.
They had 56 shots on goal compared to BSU’s 14. Wisconsin also had 16 more faceoff wins. The one stat that the Beavers did well in was blocked shots, where they had 27 as opposed to Wisconsin’s 14.
Throughout the game, Wisconsin did an unbelievable job of playing offensive zone defense. Basically, when the Badgers didn’t have possession of the puck in the offensive zone, they were still able to play good defense and prevent the puck from getting back to neutral ice. This put a ton of pressure on Bemidji State’s defense and goalie Hannah Hogenson.
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Hogenson was able to step up to that pressure in a mighty way. Despite facing 56 shots throughout the game, she kept all of them out of the net, which held the score at zeros heading into a shootout.
That’s a new career high for the goalie — and because of her efforts, she won her second straight WCHA goaltender of the week.
Not to be outdone, Kennedy Blair was also perfect in game one stopping all 14 shots that came her way. She had a ton of help from her friends on defense as the puck was almost always on the other side of the ice.
Toward the end of the second period, the Badgers seemed to have finally had a breakthrough thanks to a breakaway goal.
But as the fans were celebrating in La Bahn Arena, Jim Scanlan challenged the call. It turns out that the Badgers were offsides entering the breakaway and the game remained tied at zero.
The game went all the way to a shootout and Hogenson finally broke her perfect night. Daryl Watts scored the only goal of the shootout in the first round and led the Badgers to a victory.
It technically counts as a tie in the standings, but that would have been Wisconsin’s nineteenth win in a row, tying a school record.
Ahmad Hamid/The Badger Herald
Notable Performances
Hogenson (BSU): 0.00 GAA, 1.000 Sv%, 56 Saves
Blair (WIS): 0.00 GAA, 1.000 Sv%, 14 Saves
O’Brien (WIS): 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, 11 Shots, 12-17 FO
The next day, both teams took the ice after an extremely tight game one. Game two went a very different way.
It started with Scanlan changing the starting goalie to Lexi Baker. Personally, I’m not sure what prompted the change but I can assume that it was because of Hogenson’s workload the afternoon before.
It started with the Beaver’s top line scoring a goal early, thanks to Paige Beebe. BSU went up 1-0 early in the first.
Their lead only lasted for about ten minutes when Sarah Wozniewicz scored the first goal of many for Wisconsin. Only two minutes later, Caitlin Schneider scored her first goal of the day to give the Badgers the lead.
The second period was nothing short of electric if you’re a Wisconsin fan.
It all started with Nicole LaMantia getting the Badgers up 3-1 less than a minute into the period. It was followed by Watt’s first goal of the day and then Casey O’Brien put the puck in the back of the net on a breakaway opportunity.
The first three goals in the first five minutes of the period put the Badgers up 5-1.
Watts then scored the next two to give herself a hat trick. She took home Sunday afternoon’s first star of the game and had an assist to go along with it. Schneider then scored her second of the game, putting Wisconsin up 8-1 at the end of two.
The third period was relatively uneventful until about 15 minutes in, when third string BSU goaltender Abbie Thompson saved a slapshot from Kendra Nealy.
A rebound opportunity followed and O’Brien took advantage wide-open net. Thompson slid to her left and dove to make a fantastic glove save. If you haven’t seen the clip, It’s a must-watch. Check it out on Twitter: @WCHA_WHockey.
8-1 was the final score of this blowout as Wisconsin remained undefeated for the year. They didn’t get to 20 wins in a row since the shootout technically counting as a tie, but the season still looks good for Wisconsin as they are ranked No. 1 in the USCHO women’s hockey poll.
Notable Performances
Watts: 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 9 Shots
Schneider: 2G, 1A, 3PTS, 5 Shots
Wozniewicz: 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 2 Shots
Wozniewicz’s efforts in both games won her WCHA’s Rookie of the week award.
The Badgers look to continue their undefeated season next weekend as they travel to St. Paul to take on the unranked St. Thomas Tommies.
