It may not have been the opening Minnesota-Duluth was looking for at its new arena, but for the Badgers, the debut of the new Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center could not have gone much better.
Senior forward Meghan Duggan and Wisconsin helped the rival Bulldogs open AMSOIL Arena en route to a win and a tie, ending their contest Saturday night with a shootout victory over UMD. With two goals and an assist Friday and another assist Saturday night, Duggan extended her point streak to 22 games, a UW record.
It was Duggan who opened scoring Friday night with a goal late in the first period, and later capped it off with an empty-netter in the third period. The team captain has not been held scoreless since Oct. 22.
Wisconsin got off to a good start the next night as freshman forward Madison Packer and sophomore forward Brianna Decker combined to give the Badgers a 2-0 lead going in to the first intermission.
Duluth was not content to let the game slip away, however, and with their backs against the wall the Bulldogs showed why they are respected as a women's hockey juggernaut. Wisconsin took a 3-1 lead into the period, but a trio of third-period Duluth goals — and a tally from junior Badger forward Hilary Knight — sent the game into overtime tied.
For the second time this season Wisconsin skated an extra frame with the Bulldogs. But whereas their Nov. 26 contest ended with a Badger game-winner 10 seconds into overtime, neither team could find the back of the net and the game went to a shootout.
With the shootout tied 1-1, Knight converted with what proved to be the game winner.
The game will go down as Wisconsin's first tie of the season, but means the Badgers are unbeaten in their past 12 games, dating back to a Nov. 27 loss against Duluth.
Wisconsin will return home next weekend to face Minnesota at the Kohl Center, the only other team to hand the Badgers a loss this season.
There are no more meetings scheduled between Wisconsin and Duluth this regular season, but don't expect the weekend's series to be the last time they face each other. With WCHA and NCAA playoffs on the horizon, the Badgers and Bulldogs could be headed for a postseason matchup that will add another chapter to their long and contentious rivalry.
-UWBadgers.com contributed to this report
