Another weekend has passed, and the No. 1 ranked University of Wisconsin women’s hockey program continued to maintain its dominance over the NCAA field.
This time, the team took down then No. 11 ranked St. Cloud State University over the course of two straight afternoons.
A fast-pace offense and quick transition game has been the formula for success, and UW once again utilized it to pull away from their competitor.
The Huskies marked the first ranked opponent the Badgers had to take on this year, and had to do so on the road. In the first game of the series, forward Kirsten Simms found the back of the net twice to propel UW past St. Cloud State.
After falling behind early on, the Badgers took advantage of a power play to regain the lead. Simms tied it up through a lot of traffic, and forward Britta Curl lit the lamp just 84 seconds later to give UW a 2–1 lead.
The goal from Curl proved to be significant, as the senior notched her 10th-straight game with a goal. She surpassed Meghan Duggan — a 2011 graduate — as UW’s leader in most games in a row with at least one goal.
The Badgers once again had an answer for the Huskies in the second period, where Simms tallied her second goal of the night. It proved to be the game-winning one, as defender Ava Murphy slapped in a goal to double UW’s lead later on in the period.
From there, the Badgers maintained a 4–2 lead for the rest of the game and took home the victory on day one in Minnesota.
Women’s Hockey: Wisconsin uses power plays, multiple contributors to earn two wins
The next day, UW was back on the ice and found themselves in a tight battle heading into the third period.
With the score locked in at 2–2, the Badgers erupted for three goals within this high-powered offense. Forward Casey O’Brien broke the tie on a slick assist from Simms from behind the net.
With less than four minutes to play, St. Cloud State was forced to play without their goalkeeper. UW used the empty net to their advantage, as shots from forwards Laila Edwards and Sarah Wozniewicz converted to seal the victory and the sweep.
Edwards finished with two goals the day after, giving the Badgers a quick 1–0 advantage in the first period. Three unanswered points were the difference on Saturday, as UW went on to win 5–2.
UW will enjoy a bye week this upcoming weekend before getting back on the road to face-off against No. 2 ranked Ohio State in a heavyweight battle. The Badgers will carry their perfect 12-0-0 record over to Columbus next week, with the first game of the two-game series beginning Friday, Nov. 17.
