In an action packed weekend at LaBahn Arena for the first round of the WCHA playoffs, Wisconsin clinched a spot in the WCHA Final Faceoff with a 7-0 win Friday and a 3-2 overtime thriller Saturday against Bemidji State. The weekend also saw the return of the five Badger Olympians for the first time since January.
The starting lineup for the Badgers was the same as it has been for the last couple weeks, with the exception of captain Caroline Harvey making her way back to the lineup and Laney Potter dropping back to the second unit.
Friday
Bemidji State pushed Wisconsin out of the zone to start the first period. It wasn’t until defender Vivian Jungles hit Bemidji State goalie Kaitlin Groess directly in the chest that Wisconsin got their first shot on goal.
Even with limited shots on goal in the first four minutes of play, Wisconsin showed clear dominance of the puck. Just under 15 minutes to go, Wisconsin got their first advantage as Beaver Morgan Smith was sent to the box for tripping.
On Wisconsin's first line change, Potter found herself on a one-on-one. She drove down the right side, sweeping the puck between Groess’s legs to get the first goal of the game.
It didn’t take long for the Badgers to find themselves in the net again, as co-captain Lacey Eden lodged the puck up to Cassie Hall right at the blue line, giving her a one-on-one battle with Groess where she found the top of the net.
Following the two goals, the Badgers kept control in the Beaver’s zone. With 10 minutes left to play, Bemidji State had only managed to get one shot on goal.
With 4:41 left in the period, Bemidji got their second penalty, giving the Badgers the power play. Twenty seconds into the power play, Adéla Šapovalivová hit the puck from behind off the skate of a Bemidji State player, netting Wisconsin’s third goal.
The second period was just as aggressive as the first. In the beginning of the period, Bemidji State came out strong and drove down the rink hitting Badger goalie Ava McNaughton right in the glove.
Shortly after, forward Kirsten Simms found herself on a breakaway and danced around Bemidji’s defense for the goal.
Just over a minute later, Maggie Scannell bounced the puck over Groess to put the Badgers up 5-0. For the next few minutes, the puck bounced from zone to zone as neither team could fully settle.
To continue the scoring, Šapovalivová received a pass from Laila Edwards and sniped the puck to the top of the net.
For a good seven minutes, Bemidji played aggressively, not giving the Badgers much time in their zone. McNaughton held her own, not letting any pucks through.
With 5:22 left in the second period, Kelly Gorbatenko made her way to the box for interference. Wisconsin, having penalty killing success all season long, maintained composure and didn’t allow the Beavers to capitalize on the advantage. Edwards made a vital block, stopping a rocketing puck with her forearm.
With 1:30 left, Beaver forward Hailey Armstrong broke away, but McNaughton stopped the one-on-one opportunity and kept Bemidji State scoreless.
A few seconds later, Jungles got called for hooking, giving Bemidji State a penalty shot. Armstrong had another chance to get Bemidji on the board but McNaughton made the pad save.
“I’m just glad I could come up with the save and kind of let our team breathe a little and make sure it wasn’t a big deal,” McNaughton said.
The Badgers were not done scoring in the second period, as with six seconds to go, Edwards centered a shot to give Wisconsin a commanding 7-0 lead heading into the final period of play.
The third period had a slower, more controlled pace. Bemidji State found themselves sitting in Wisconsin’s zone but couldn’t get any power behind their shots.
Just under four minutes into the period, Gorbatenko set up in the crease and tried to lodge one past Groess but couldn’t get past the padding.
Even with the Badgers controlling the period, they were unable to find a window to the net. The period rolled along, and it wasn’t until the last 40 seconds that Bemidji found themselves on the advantage, but Wisconsin was able to kill the penalty and secure the 7-0 shutout.
“I thought Ava [McNaughton] did well. I mean, obviously she didn’t get a lot of playing time overseas,” Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson said. “We gave them a bunch of different shots, a couple power play opportunities, with a penalty shot and things like that. So in the big picture, that was good. I mean the more puck touches she has, the more she gets herself back into a rhythm.”
Saturday
Game two of the best-of-three series saw both defenses step up, grinding out a scoreless first period compared to Friday’s scoring barrage. The Beavers decided to sit Groess and start senior Ava Hills. This change proved to be successful for Bemidji State, as she stopped all 15 of the Badgers shots on goal in the first period
Bemidji State’s defense did a good job pushing Wisconsin out to the blue line, causing the team to have to reset, which stopped the flow of the game.
Just under 15 minutes in the first period, Gorbatenko pushed through the defense to the crease, and the rest of her line tried to get the puck in but Hills managed to cover it up.
The Badgers were able to get some good looks on goal throughout the period but suffered from awkward bounces that prevented many rebound opportunities.
Bemidji State broke away halfway through the period, and defender Emma Venusio made a critical block to keep the game level. A few minutes later, pressure was on McNaughton again as she gloved the puck falling backwards. With under five minutes remaining, Wisconsin’s top line set up in Bemidji’s zone but were unable to surpass Hills.
For the first few minutes of the second period, Wisconsin put pressure on Hills but still couldn’t find a way around her.
The Badgers found themselves on the advantage soon after, as Beaver Kasey Senden went to the box for interference. However, the Badgers could not keep the puck in the zone, giving them less time on offense.
Bemidji State capitalized on a defensive-zone miscue after McNaughton went behind the net to dump the puck, leaving the net empty, which allowed Armstrong to find the back of the net.
Wisconsin responded a little over a minute later, as Ava Murphy sniped a shot from the blue line that got tipped in by Maggie Scannell to even the score board.
Shortly after, off a turnover in the neutral zone, Bemidji State fired a shot past McNaughton which ended up in the net. Johnson challenged the goal for offsides and won, keeping the score 1-1.
Almost instantly off a pass from Eden, Simms shot a clean pass into the net. But Bemidji State head coach Amber Fryklund took a page out of Johnson’s book and challenged for offsides, winning the challenge and taking away another goal.
Wisconsin earned a late power play with two minutes remaining in the period, as Senden headed to the box for a second time. With 31 seconds left, Harvey shot from the blue line and Šapovalivová tipped it right into the goal. The goal was challenged, but stood, giving the Badgers a 2-1 lead.
It seemed Wisconsin found their rhythm and control to start the third period.
With just under 12 and half minutes left, Lola Macuiba got called for holding, which gave the Badgers the power play. The Beavers were able to successfully kill off the penalty.
As the period dwindled down, it seemed like the Badgers would coast their way to the Final Faceoff with relative ease. With two minutes to go, Bemidji pulled Hills from goal in a last-ditch attempt to tie the game and save their season.
With 25 seconds remaining, Morgan Smith’s shot deflected off Potter's skate and into the net to give Bemidji State the game-tying goal.
The Badgers found themselves in an unexpected overtime period, considering their shutout just 24 hours before. Not even two minutes in, however, Simms passed back to Edwards who got a shot off of Hills stick side for the game-winner.
“That mindset going into overtime was just keep playing our game and get it to the net,” Edwards said. “I think our group does a good job at just hitting that reset button, and we have so many good leaders whether they're wearing letters or not, who just bring the energy and sometimes that’s all you need.”
After their first round sweep, Wisconsin will now enter single-elimination play in the WCHA Final Faceoff. The Badgers square off against Minnesota State-Mankato in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 5. Puck will drop at 4:02 p.m.
