Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Hagen Sends Wisconsin Badgers Past No. 3 UMD, 3-2
Feb. 9, 2008
DULUTH, Minn. -- Junior goalie Jessie Vetter made 27 saves while junior Kayla Hagen scored the game-winner midway through the third period as the No. 5 Wisconsin women's hockey team topped No. 3 Minnesota Duluth 3-2 Friday night at the DECC.
Kyla Sanders (Fort Myers, Fla.) and Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.) added the other two goals for the Badgers (21-6-2 overall, 17-4-2 WCHA), who extended their winning streak to 11 games.
Vetter's counterpart, Kim Martin, stopped 21 shots for UMD (24-4-1, 21-4-0), which saw its 16-game winning streak come to an end.
Sanders gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead just 2:09 into the contest with her 13th goal of the season. Jasmine Giles (Ottawa, Ontario) came out of a scrum along the nearside boards with the puck and cut to the slot. Martin got a piece of her backhander, but it trickled towards the goal line and Sanders was there to tap in the rebound.
Wisconsin held onto its 1-0 lead until midway through the second period when Laura Fridfinnson flipped a shot from the right point through traffic into the upper right corner to tie the game at 1-1. The power-play goal, Fridfinnson's 11th of the season, was assisted by Haley Irwin.
Duggan put the Badgers back in front with 40.6 seconds left in the second period. Junior Tia Hanson (Medicine Hat, Alberta) chipped the puck up the boards to Duggan who skated into the UMD zone 1-on-4. Duggan cut towards the middle at the top of the left circle and snapped a shot into the upper right corner for her 12th goal of the season.
Minnesota Duluth fought back and again tied the game less than five minutes into the third period. Emmanuelle Blais took a shot from the bottom of the left circle that beat Vetter.
However, Hagen (Cross Lake, Minn.) put the Badgers up for good at the 10:26 mark of the third period with her second goal of the season. Hanson carried the puck into the UMD zone up the left wing on a 2-on-1 and slid a pass across to Hagen who redirected it past Martin.
The Badgers had a golden opportunity to double their lead with 3:38 left in regulation when Duggan was awarded a penalty shot after she was tripped up on a breakaway. She skated in and deked, but Martin was able to slide across and make the save with her right leg.
Wisconsin then took a bench minor for too many players on the ice with 46 seconds left, but the Badgers were able to keep the puck along the boards and not allow UMD any scoring chances.
Fans can read a full recap of Friday's game by checking out the Badger Blog.
The Badgers finished the game 0-for-3 on the power play while the Bulldogs went 1-for-8.
UW and Minnesota Duluth conclude their WCHA series Saturday night at
the DECC. Faceoff is slated for 7:07 p.m.
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