It took 127 minutes and nine seconds of action Saturday night, but junior forward Jinelle Zaugg's goal in the fourth overtime sent the Wisconsin women's hockey team to the Frozen Four for the second straight season as the Badgers defeated Harvard 1-0.
Despite 68 shots on goal, Wisconsin was stifled by Harvard goalie Brittany Martin, who prevented the Badgers from scoring until senior forward Sara Bauer set up Zaugg with a one-time pass that beat the sophomore netminder to her left, which ended the second-longest NCAA women's hockey game of all time.
""Bauer gave me a perfect pass and I don't really remember much after that. I like one-timers so it worked pretty well,"" Zaugg said.
The Badgers saw 5,125 fans attend the game, the second-most ever for an NCAA women's hockey game. Those fans watched Wisconsin sophomore goalie Jessie Vetter make 36 saves and extend her postseason shutout streak to 447 minutes and 46 seconds, dating back to last year's NCAA quarterfinal win over Mercyhurst.
Despite the blanking of Harvard, Vetter was quick to acknowledge the spectacular play of Martin.
""I was just glad I was on the other end with only 30-some [saves]. We kept peppering her and she played really well tonight and I can't say enough about her,"" Vetter said.
Martin praised her team's performance and did not appear disappointed at her offense's scoreless game.
""My team was there to clear every single rebound and clear every single break away. I can't even say enough about my team right now,"" she said. ""That's basically what stands out, is my team, from defensemen to forwards, everyone did their job.""
Harvard senior forward Julie Chu, who is tied with Bauer for third in points in the country, prevented Bauer from registering a shot on goal.
""I was trying to pin her as much as I could out there, but at the same time she moves really well so I have to make sure I don't overplay her so [she doesn't] walk to the net and snipe a little bit earlier than the fourth overtime,"" Chu said.
Johnson elected to use a three-line rotation instead of the usual four, phasing out the third line in favor of the fourth line. This led to some of Wisconsin's greatest scoring opportunities and Martin's best saves on shots by freshmen forwards Kyla Sanders and Emily Kranz along with sophomore forward Tia Hanson.
""I made the decision to go with Kranz's line because Sanders had a good jump. Early in the game she created a couple of opportunities and we got into a pretty good flow,"" Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson said. ""I liked the matchups and I liked the way the kids were playing.""
The 5,000-plus fan turnout at the Kohl Center proved women's hockey can draw a sizeable crowd in Madison, as the team averaged just 1,174 fans per game this season heading into Saturday's game.
""It's great for women's hockey. We had a nice crowd here tonight, they were very entertained. Obviously the party went a little longer than we thought it was going to go,"" Johnson said.
""Being in this atmosphere, with so many crazy Badger fans out there and even if they're cheering against us, it's an incredible atmosphere,"" Chu said.
Wisconsin heads to Lake Placid, New York, for the Frozen Four and will play St. Lawrence in the semifinals Friday afternoon. The Saints are the host school for the Frozen Four and lost to Wisconsin in the semifinals last season 1-0. Sunday's NCAA championship game will showcase the winner of Wisconsin/St. Lawrence against the victor of the other semifinal meeting between Minnesota-Duluth and Boston College.
