The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey swept Minnesota State-Mankato in their last road game of the regular season, beating the Mavericks 4-1 Friday and 5-1 Saturday. Special teams played a decisive role this weekend, scoring four of Wisconsin’s nine goals.
Friday
The Badgers showed clear puck dominance early with forward Claire Enright creating a one-on-one scoring opportunity with Minnesota State goalie Hailey Hansen who made the save.
The Mavericks almost snuck one in a few minutes later, but defender Emma Venusio was able to keep the puck from entering the net. The Badgers were winning faceoffs but were unable to keep the puck in the zone.
It seemed as if the first period would go scoreless with six minutes remaining, but forward Marianne Picard drew first blood when she sent the puck into the crease from a lucky bounce off a Mavericks skate for her first goal of the season.
A minute later, defenseman Ava Murphy sent a stretch pass to forward Finley McCarthy, who directed the puck past Hansen.
The Mavericks, however, did not let the first period expire without a goal of their own, as Maverick defenseman Lauren Zawoyski snipped a high slot shot to end the period 2-1.
After a first period with zero penalties, the second period began with McCarthy getting called for an unnecessary cross check. But the Badgers managed to use the disadvantage to secure their third goal. Claire Enright was able to force a turnover at center ice for captain Lacey Eden to get the shorthanded goal.
The Badgers successfully killed the penalty and were able to draw their own just after. Forward Kelly Gorbatenko drove into the post trying to squeeze the puck in, but Hansen hugged the post just tight enough to keep the puck out.
Wisconsin was then called for too many players on the ice, a penalty they struggled with against Ohio State just last week. The Mavericks could not settle the puck on the advantage, allowing the Badgers to kill the penalty.
Neither team was able to produce much toward the end of the second period, ending it 3-1.
The Badgers controlled the puck in the zone a lot more in the third, but Hansen made some clutch saves to keep Minnesota State in the game. With just under 13 minutes remaining, Cassie Hall got slammed into the boards by Mika Cichosz, giving the Badgers the one woman advantage.
Hall got her revenge when she received a pass from Eden in front and quickly snapped the puck past Hansen, earning her 100th career point.
Badger defense held the Mavericks to zero points the rest of the way, securing their first win of the weekend.
Saturday
Wisconsin showed control in the offensive zone within the first two minutes of action, much like Friday. But even with power in the zone, the Badgers struggled to turn time of possession into shots on goal.
Minnesota State looked to capitalize in Wisconsin’s zone as Zawoyski launched one toward goal five minutes in, but goalie Rhyah Stewart made a pad save.
Almost halfway into the period, Hall found Eden at the top of the crease, where she tucked the puck past goalie Kaydence Roeske to give the Badgers an early lead.
Shortly after Eden’s goal, Wisconsin went on the power play off an interference call against Cichosz. This penalty gave special teams all the momentum they needed to secure another goal. After a great passing game around the Mavericks defense, Hall buried the puck in the net.
The Mavericks quickly responded as Ava Guillemette found a loose puck and slid it past Stewart.
Minnesota State faced another deficit after forward Zoe Lopez got sent to the box for roughing. This allowed Enright to get a quick shot out in the crease, ending the period 3-1.
Minnesota State opened the second period on the power play, but the Badgers penalty kill unit immediately applied pressure, clearing the puck repeatedly and only allowing two shots on goal. The Mavericks caught another break when Picard went to the box for hooking, giving them a five-on-three man advantage for 10 seconds. Yet again, Wisconsin's power play unit dominated, not letting more than two shots on Stewart.
It wasn’t till the last five minutes of play that anyone found the back of the net, when Picard found a cross ice pass from forward Charlotte Pieckenhagen for her second goal of the weekend.
The third period played a much more back-and-forth game across the ice. With 12 minutes left to play, the Mavericks looked to be driving down on a two-on-one but got called for offsides.
In the final two minutes of the weekend, Picard found McCarthy who snipped the back of the net, giving the Badgers a 5-1 victory.
With the win against Minnesota State, Wisconsin secured their eight conference sweep of the season. Eden, who scored her 99th point this weekend, is now one point away from joining Brianna Decker, Meghan Duggan and Hillary Knight for 100 or more career points.
To close out the regular season, the Badgers travel back home to LaBahn Arena to take on St. Cloud State Feb. 21 and 22.
