The Wisconsin women's hockey team is sitting at the No. 4 spot of the U.S. College Hockey Online poll after capping off its winter break action with a 5-2 victory over then-No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth. The Badgers, who were ranked fifth in the country heading into the series against the Bulldogs, skated to a 1-1 tie Saturday before pulling off the upset Sunday.??
The hero of the weekend was sophomore goalie Meghan Horras, whose performance earned her both the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and the U.S. College Hockey Online defensive player of the week honors. Horras tallied 26 saves on Sunday, preserving the lead by making 11 of her saves in the final period. She stopped 51 pucks total for the two-game series. This impressive performance came against a team that has two Olympic skaters on it, including junior forward Caroline Ouellette, a Canadian gold medalist whose 16-game point-scoring streak was stopped by Horras on Saturday.
The first game of the series was a battle of goaltenders as Bulldog goalie Ritta Schaublin, a freshman from Sweden, went toe-to-toe with Horras. The two goalies combined for 59 saves Saturday afternoon. The Badgers' lone goal was scored by assistant captain senior forward Steph Millar at 15:56 in the second period to tie up the game. The Bulldogs scored first on freshman forward Noemie Marin's power-play goal earlier in the period. The third period proved frustrating for Wisconsin as it outshot Duluth 20-8 but was unable to record a goal.
The second game of the series was different, however, as the Badgers used four second-period goals to secure an easy 5-2 win.?? Senior forward Megan Hunter led the Badgers in scoring for the game with two goals and an assist.??
\They were highlight film goals,"" Head Coach Mark Johnson said of the scores. ""Hunter scored two beauties.""
Freshman forward Lindsay Macy picked up both a goal and an assist as Millar and Meghan Mikkelson scored UW's other two goals. After the game, Johnson pointed out that the victory marked the first time a Wisconsin team has beaten a Duluth team in Madison, commenting that ""it's a feather in [the team's] cap.""
The other action over break marked another first. The Badgers took on Northeastern, a school located in Boston, Mass., at Glacial Gardens Ice Arena in Lakewood, Calif. The first game of the series, Jan. 10, marked the first time that an NCAA women's hockey series was held west of the Rocky Mountains.??
""It really gave us an opportunity to promote women's hockey in a different part of the country,"" Johnson said. ""I think a lot of people were impressed with Division I hockey.""??
In the other game of the series the Badgers and the Huskies tied at two goals apiece. Wisconsin junior forward Amy Vermeulen was the leading scorer for the weekend, getting a goal and an assist. The Badgers showed signs of rust, coming off a one-month break, as they were only able to manage three goals on 106 shots in the series.??
""We played well and a lot of good things came out of this weekend,"" Johnson said after the tie Jan 11.
The Badgers are now off until Jan. 30 when they take on St. Cloud State in Minnesota.
