In hockey, there’s a saying that a goalie gets a sunburn when they let in a barrage of goals. Well, this weekend, Bemidji State University goaltenders Eva Filippova and Abbie Thompson got burned as the University of Wisconsin Badgers rained fire, combining for 17 goals on the weekend. Badger goaltenders Jane Gervais and Ava McNaughton combined for 28 saves as the Badgers shut out the Beavers in consecutive games.
Following the game Saturday, sophomore Caroline Harvey, who scored Friday and picked up an assist Saturday, called the weekend a “building block,” and said that she was “finding more confidence in game”, in an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing … you have to play at a high level, and we have to continue doing that,” UW Head Coach Mark Johnson told the Wisconsin State Journal. The Badgers have indeed been playing at a high level, as Saturday’s win marked their 13th in a row.
Women’s Hockey: Harvey leads Wisconsin to sweep against St. Cloud State
Forward Kirsten Simms started the weekend off quickly for the Badgers on Friday night at Bemidji State, burying a shot into the top right corner of the goal three minutes into the game. Just four minutes later, it was forward Britta Curl who used some nifty puck handling to slide the puck around the right side of Filippova. Just 70 seconds or so later, forward Laila Edwards slid a backhanded shot around Filippova to extend the lead to 3-0 just nine minutes into the game. That would set the theme for the game, as the Badgers would lead 6-0 at the end of the first period, and would finish the night with a 10-0 victory.
The sophomores Simms and Edwards picked up hat tricks on the same evening, and senior Casey O’Brien recorded her 100th career assist during the contest. On Saturday afternoon, the Beavers held the Badgers scoreless for the first nine minutes of the game. It was forward Kelly Gorbatenko who ignited the action, lobbing a puck in from beyond the blue line, taking a weird skip and getting by Filippova. The Badgers continued to dominate all afternoon, winning 7-0, highlighted by two goals from O’Brien in the first and second periods.
The Badgers improved to 26-4-0 on the weekend, as the Beavers fell to a meager 4-24-2.
Looking Forward
The Badgers’ final two series of the season come at home against the 5th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers and the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Minnesota swept St. Cloud State this weekend, and carry in an eight-game winning streak of their own. We’ll find out what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, with puck drop slated for 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at La Bahn Arena.
