Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Badgers Snap UMD Streak in Key Split
Feb. 13, 2008
By John Gilbert - DULUTH, Minn. - The University of Wisconsin women's hockey team has been flying distinctly under the radar all season, and that's no easy task for a team that is two-time defending NCAA champions, and has a record of 21-7-2, and 17-5-2 in the WCHA. Trouble is, Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota have been running 1-2 almost all season, with even better records.
But as playoff time nears, the Badgers are hot enough to claim their rightful share of the spotlight, even if a pair of hot streaks weren't enough to warm up the 20-below-zero temperatures in Duluth.
UMD (25-4-1, 22-4 WCHA) had a 16-game winning streak that was longest in the nation, and the Bulldogs could have pretty well sewn up the WCHA title by sweeping Wisconsin. But the Badgers came in with a 10-game winning streak of their own, and snapped UMD's streak with a 3-2 victory at the DECC on Friday night. UMD came back on Saturday to beat the Badgers by an identical 3-2.
Maybe that was the message from the frigid weather out on the North Shore of Lake Superior - a weekend for cold snaps rather than hot streaks. The tight, tense games proved the Badgers have reached a proper playoff pace.
"It was pretty much a typical game between these two teams - we always have great games," said Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson.
A return to what has been normal the past two seasons is indeed a high point for the Badgers, because they seem certain to return to the DECC once more and maybe twice this season - for the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF, and for the NCAA Frozen Four.
To win the WCHA and NCAA titles the past two years, Johnson guided Wisconsin up to and beyond the status of Minnesota Duluth, which won the first three NCAA tournaments, and Minnesota, which won the fourth and fifth NCAAs. The Badgers made the WCHA the Big Three, and also made sure the league retained ownership of all seven NCAA titles so far.
"It's fun to play Wisconsin," said UMD coach Shannon Miller. "They're a good team, and they play clean and they never run the goalie, and they are well coached. You can't just plan to do things against Wisconsin,
you have to try to anticipate what Mark is going to be doing. It gets to be like a chess match."
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But in the first six weekends of WCHA play, the Badgers seemed to be missing a few pieces, including the the irreplaceable Sara Bauer, who graduated, and they sputtered at the start. An opening-weekend tie against Ohio State, splits against St. Cloud State and Minnesota, and a tie against Bemidji State caused the Badgers to drop from their early No. 1 national rating. Then came the sting of a pair of losses to UMD in Madison, which left Wisconsin 6-5-2 in league play.
This is a different Wisconsin team, but it is still potent. Once the Badgers became comfortable with their new identity, they tightened up their team defense considerably, helping goaltender Jessie Vetter, and they started winning with regularity. In the 10-game winning streak from the last loss to UMD up to the return series in Duluth, the Badgers gave up only 11 goals. After the split, it's still an impressive 16 goals-against in 12 games, for an 11-1 run.
At Duluth, sophomore Meghan Duggan led the way, scoring once Friday and getting both goals Saturday, to run her tally to 14 goals for the season, second only to freshman Hilary Knight's 15, while senior Jinelle Zaugg and sophomore Kyla Sanders have 13 each, freshman Mallory Deluce 11, junior Erika Lawler nine and junior Angie Keseley eight in the balanced offense.
Only a home series against last-place Bemidji State stands between the Badgers and a season-ending series at Minnesota (23-4-3, 19-4-1 WCHA), where second place should be on the line. UMD remains five points ahead of Minnesota, but is idle this weekend before finishing against St. Cloud State, which has the toughest finish, with a home-and-home set against the Gophers this weekend before going to Duluth.
Had Wisconsin split ihat earlier series with UMD, the standings would be tighter yet, and Johnson, who never takes anything for granted, admits he thought that split was in hand.
"We had a good series down there, and both teams played tight, good hockey," said Johnson. "They beat us 3-1, but we were leading the second game 2-1 in the last minute...There we were, thinking we were going to win 2-1 for a split, and all of a sudden, they were leaving Madison with four points."
With star goaltender Kim Martin pulled for an extra attacker, UMD freshman Iya Gavrilova scored with :25 seconds remaining to tie the game. Then Gavrilova scored again, only :15 seconds into overtime. That, however, was the last previous loss for Wisconsin, and the two teams put on more of the same sort of action in Duluth.
Granted, Gavrilova was out with the flu, which affected several other Bulldogs during the preceding week, and UMD sophomore scoring leader and captain Saara Tuominen remained sidelined with a knee injury suffered playing for her native Finland over the Christmas holidays.
"No question, missing Gavrilova is important to UMD," said Johnson, still chilled by her personal turnaround performance in Madison. But playing hockey means never having to use an excuse - especially when the Badgers and Bulldogs meet. UMD has a 20-15-6 edge in the all-time series between the two, but the two are only 8-8-2 at the DECC, where UMD hadn't beaten Johnson's Badgers since sweeping a series three years ago.
Kyla Sanders put Wisconsin up 1-0 two minutes into the first game, UMD freshman Laura Fridfinnson tied it midway through the second period, but Duggan broke wide around the defense and regained the lead at 2-1 for Wisconsin :41 seconds before the second period ended.
Five minutes into the third period, dynamic Emmanuelle Blais tied it 2-2 for UMD.
"That was a nice goal by Blais," Johnson said. "Then it became a 14-minute game...and we found a way to win."
The way was colorful. Kayla Hagen, a former high school star at nearby Cloquet, Minn., who was at right wing on the fourth line, with only two goals all season and seven for her three seasons in Badger red, skated up the right side. Tia Hanson, another fourth-line junior, carried the puck up the left side and passed across the slot. Hagen knocked it past Martin, midway through the final period, and the Badgers held on to win 3-2.
Not that it was easy. First, with 3:38 remaining, UMD defenseman Myriam Trepanier hindered a Duggan breakaway enough that Johnson was offered his choice - a power play or a penalty shot.
"With another shooter, I might have thought about it, but with Meghan, I went for the penalty shot," Johnson said. "It was a chance to get a goal, and be a hero."
Duggan raced in, but Martin, fighting both the flu and a knee problem, went down for a huge save.
Thirty seconds later, Badger freshman defenseman Malee Windmeier was penalized for knocking down Blais in front of the net. Vetter survived a barrage, and with five seconds left in the penalty, Miller called time out, pulled Martin, and sent out six fresh attackers for the final minute. With :46 seconds to go, the Badgers were called for too many skaters on the ice.
"Malee (Windmeier) came to the bench, and we wanted her to stay on," said Johnson. "She turned and went back, but somebody had gone on for her."
Again, the Badgers showed great poise, and Vetter survived another 6-on-4 power-play, to snap UMD's 16-game win string.
The rematch was a very similar battle. This time UMD took the opening lead, on Fridfinnson's first-period goal. Duggan tied it with a power-play goal early in the second period, but the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead when Blais blasted a shot off the left pipe, which caromed directly to Haley Irwin for a power-play goal.
In the third period, Rachel Bible was called for hooking to stop Fridfinnson's near-breakaway. It seemed like a good penalty, at 14:29 of a 2-1 game, but it was less favorable when Heidi Pelttari converted a neat three-way passing play with a power-play goal at 15:20.
But down 3-1, the Badgers battled back, and Duggan converted a rebound with a backhand goal to trim it to 3-2 with 2:41 remaining. Still plenty of time. Johnson took time out with 1:08 left, to pull Vetter. Miller countered with a time out with :33 seconds left, to give Martin and the defense time to catch their breath. The chess match ended 3-2, with both teams ready to start new streaks.