The University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team (34-1-2, 25-1-2 WCHA) continued their record-breaking season with a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (21-14-2, 14-12-2) on Friday afternoon to advance to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final FaceOff.
Despite going down early thanks to a goal from Bulldog sophomore Grace Sadura, the Badgers rallied, scoring a goal in each period to set up a rematch of the 2023 and 2024 WCHA semifinal games against the Minnesota Gophers.
Two minutes into the first period, Sadura picked up the puck in the Bulldogs’ defensive third. She skated up the ice, around the Badger defender, redshirt fifth year Katie Kotlowski, and poked a shot past sophomore goaltender Ava McNaughton to give Minnesota Duluth the lead with their first shot of the game.
The Badgers, however, didn’t allow the lead to last for long, tying the game at one apiece less than four minutes later. Sophomore Laney Potter skated down the right flank and fired the puck across the face of the goal, where sophomore Kelly Gorbatenko reacted fastest, jumping into the puck and scoring the equalizer for the Badgers.
By the end of the first period, the Badgers dominated the shot counter, leading the Bulldogs 14-3 despite the 1-1 score. The beginning of the second period wasn’t nearly as exciting as the first, as neither team broke the deadlock until the final five minutes of the period.
Star junior forward Laila Edwards and fifth year Casey O’Brien battled a Minnesota Duluth player for the puck, and as the puck slid away from the trio, junior Caroline Harvey slapped a first-time shot into the top-right corner, giving the Badgers their first lead of the night.
With the assist, O’Brien extended her lead in assists in the NCAA this season with 56 and contributed her 80th point of the season — a feat that hasn’t been achieved since former Badger Daryl Watts did it in 2018.
The Badgers built upon their lead with just over a minute left in the third period, as freshman Emma Venusio put the dagger in the Bulldogs’ hearts with her first collegiate goal. Harvey received the puck on the left flank and shot the puck into a crowd near the goal, and Venusio redirected the puck past the Minnesota Duluth goaltender to give the Badgers the 3-1 lead.
McNaughton proved why she deserved a spot on the All-WCHA Second Team, making 22 saves and maintaining the second-best save percentage in the NCAA. On the offensive side of the puck, the Badgers put up 42 shots.
Tomorrow afternoon the Badgers will once again compete for the WCHA Final FaceOff championship against the Minnesota Gophers, who they narrowly defeated in a nail-biting 4-3 overtime matchup in 2024.
Despite Wisconsin’s current eight-game winning streak against the border battle opponents, dating all the way back to the beginning of last season, it’s vital for the Badgers not to underestimate their opponents. In their semifinal matchup, the Gophers defeated Ohio State, the reigning NCAA champions, in dominant fashion, winning 6-2.
The puck will drop in Duluth, Minnesota tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. live on Big Ten Plus.
