The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team hosted the No. 6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 in a two-game series where the Badgers notched a win and a loss, continuing the team’s middling past few weeks.
Despite a strong start to the season, Wisconsin has hit a rocky road, losing their last three out of four games. After getting swept by Ohio State last weekend, the reigning national champions returned home to play Minnesota Duluth, hoping that the support of their fans would help them continue their undefeated home streak.
The sold-out crowd at Labahn Arena proved helpful in Saturday’s 3-0 win against the Bulldogs.
Among the standouts in Saturday’s game was Badgers’ goalie junior Jane Gervias, who shut out Minnesota Duluth’s tenacious attack. Additionally, sophomore defender Caroline Harvey had two assists to help her team secure the win.
Minnesota freshman goalie Eve Gascon had a strong start, making the Badger offense work to break through the Bulldog defense. After a scoreless first period of back-to-back play, the Badgers finally got past Gascon in a scramble in front of the net. Badger forward junior Britta Curl was credited with the goal, assisted by Harvey and sophomore defender Vivianne Jungels.
The Badgers increased their lead in the third period, scoring two more goals and proving their loss to Minnesota Duluth last season was a distant memory. With fans chanting, “Go red!” and “We want more,” the Badgers sealed a 3-0 win in the first game.
However, this weekend’s series was a tale of two teams. While the Badgers dominated the first game, they lost their second on Sunday.
A competitive first and second period led to an entertaining third period, where all of the goals were scored.
The Bulldogs broke through first with a goal at the beginning of the third period. But after going down 2-0, the Badgers showed their fight, and freshman forward Cassie Hall was able to get one back minutes later.
The crowd, fired up and ready for a Badger comeback, was silenced when Minnesota Duluth added to their lead in the last two minutes of the game, making the score 3-1. This caused the Badgers to pull Gervias and put an additional player on the rink, which proved helpful as they were able to score in the last three seconds.
However, the Badgers didn’t have time to score another to tie the game. The game ended in a 3-2 loss, concluding the series tied 1-1.
The Badgers are away next weekend vs. the No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, where they look to reclaim their confidence and dominance. Despite the loss to Minnesota Duluth, the Badgers have another chance to play the Bulldogs in January.
