MINNEAPOLIS — “We walk out of this building the WCHA champs,” said head coach Mark Johnson.
The Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team (33-3-1), led by stellar defense and unworldly goaltending, took down the Minnesota Golden Gophers (32-4-1) Sunday afternoon in the WCHA Final Face-Off by a score of 1-0.
“We didn’t score and when you don’t score it makes it really difficult to win and credit them for that,” Minnesota head coach Brad Frost said postgame. “I know it’s a simple statement, but it’s true.”
This is nothing new for the Badgers, who have been led by defense this year, having both the No. 1 scoring defense in conjunction with the No. 1 goaltender in the nation.
The high level of talent on each unit’s roster made for a very entertaining and highly competitive matchup. It seemed as though each time one team gained any semblance of momentum, the other responded abruptly with an answer. It truly was a game of runs, sometimes swinging with each and every substitution shift.
“You know, that’s the fun part of the game,” Johnson said. “Our players get excited to play as well [and] I’m sure the Minnesota players and the coaches, the atmosphere, it’s just great for our sport to watch these games happen.”
The first period was a scoreless frame that saw each squad feeling out its talented counterpart. Wisconsin seemed to control the tempo for the majority of the first period, outshooting Minnesota 12-8, including a near-goal that everyone in the arena thought had went in. Upon review, it was determined the shot hit the pipe but did not cross the line.
Frost and team captain Hannah Brandt noticed their team’s lack of energy at the beginning of the matchup, but could not figure out why.
In the second frame however, the Gophers came back swinging, outshooting Wisconsin 13-7.
“All of a sudden we started finding our legs a little more and we started playing better,” Frost said.
After an interference penalty on junior defender Mellissa Channell near the 10-minute mark, it seemed inevitable the Gophers would eventually find the net, but Wisconsin’s record-setting junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens and the Badger ‘D’ came up big again and kept the net clean.
A few minutes later, Wisconsin answered the call when junior forward Sydney McKibbon took an assist from Sarah Nurse and put it past Minnesota goaltender Amanda Leveille to put the Badgers up 1-0. The opportunity came off a rebound from the back wall, which McKibbon hacked at until she lit the lamp for the Badgers.
Though Leveille played an outstanding game in net for the Gophers, she was focused on the one that got away.
“It came off the backboards really quickly and popped out front. I didn’t see the shot,” Leveille said. “It hit me and I had no idea where it was and then it was just a scramble. They got a bounce and it went in the net.”
The Badgers survived a tough third period in which Minnesota controlled the puck and had numerous chances. Desbiens came up big again and had not only her teammates, but also her competitors, singing her praises.
“Desbiens has been unbelievable this year and hopefully we get another crack at her,” Brandt added.
Desbiens viewed it, again, as a team shutout.
“I remember one sequence in the second period I think there was 10 blocked shots back-to-back and I’ll be honest I had no idea where the puck was,” Desbiens said. “All I saw was players diving everywhere. In this kind of game you have to do whatever it takes and hats off to my players for putting themselves in front of those pucks.”
“It’s huge for us. We have been 2-2 against them this year and this was the tiebreaker,” McKibbon said. “It is definitely a confidence builder going into next weekend.”
