Senior goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens set a new NCAA record with her 44th career shutout and senior forward Sarah Nurse notched her 100th career point as No. 1 Wisconsin (9-0-1 WCHA, 11-0-1 overall) completed a weekend sweep of Bemidji State (2-7-1, 4-7-1) with a 6-0 victory at LaBahn Arena Sunday.
Entering the game, attention was focused on Desbiens, who had tied the NCAA record in Saturday’s game and had her first opportunity to take the record outright. It would only take the Québec native one chance, as she stopped all 14 of the Beavers shots to put her name into the record books.
“Ann-Renée, the bar was set high when she came in and took over and she’s reached up and now gone over it, so hats off to her,” said coach Mark Johnson. “It’s a big accomplishment … I’m very proud of her and she’s got a lot to smile about.”
The Badgers started the game sloppy, with several turnovers and tripping penalties by freshman forward Alexis Mauermann and senior forward Sydney McKibbon. Nurse opened the scoring for UW during McKibbon’s penalty, taking a pass from sophomore forward Sophia Shaver and roofing the puck past Bemidji State goalie Erin Deters with nine minutes and 52 seconds remaining in the first. The assist was one of Shaver’s three in the game.
Less than two minutes later, freshman forward Abby Roque doubled the Badgers lead with a shot from just inside the right faceoff dot. The goal broke a streak of 29 consecutive penalty kills by Bemidji State, which entered the game as the top penalty killing team in the country at 96.8 percent.
Wisconsin continued to control play in the second period, outshooting the Beavers 14-3, but could only muster one additional goal by Mauermann. Mauermann, who collected her first collegiate goal one day earlier, added a second in the game in the third period that extended the lead to 4-0. The freshman, who had recently been moved onto a line with Shaver and Roque, credited the shakeup for her scoring outburst.
“Just playing with the linemates that I have, Soph and Abby, they really just got the puck and got bounces this weekend and it worked out like that,” Mauermann said. “We’re very close as friends and it was really great to play with them. We all played together as young kids so it’s fun.”
With just under five minutes remaining in the third period, Nurse took a pass from McKibbon and put it past Deters for a 5-0 lead and her 11th goal of the season, the second-most in the NCAA this year. As she celebrated, the PA announcer informed the crowd that the goal marked Nurse’s 100th career point.
“It’s a pretty cool accomplishment. It was actually really cool that [McKibbon] made that pass. I think to me that kinda brought it all back to where it all started,” said Nurse. “[McKibbon]’s a great player to have on the ice. She adds a ton of speed, she has a ton of smarts and I think it’s just been really good for us.”
The final tally was provided by Roque’s second goal, which trickled through Deters pads and into the net with 17.9 seconds remaining in the game. As the final horn sounded, Desbiens record was official and the team skated out to embrace her.
“I’m definitely happy about it,” Desbiens said. “I think I should just go for more wins and a national championship, I don’t have that one yet.”
The Badgers now have almost two weeks off before a series against No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth beginning Nov. 19, a much needed break after a tough stretch of play and travel.
“It’s nice to have a weekend off and get ourselves prepared not only physically, but also mentally,” said Johnson. “It comes at a great time.”
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated that Sarah Nurse leads the NCAA in goals scored. Minnesota forward Dani Cameranesi scored twice yesterday to take the lead. The story has been updated to reflect this.
