The Wisconsin women's hockey team concluded its weekend with a victory over Ohio State Sunday afternoon. Rebounding from a disappointing loss on Saturday, the No. 6 Badgers came out firing and split their two-game series against the Buckeyes with a 3-1 win.
UW was led by solid performances from senior forward Meghan Hunter and junior forward Jackie Friesen, who each finished the game with one goal and one assist. Freshman goaltender Christine Dufour recorded 23 saves and picked up her second win of the season.
Wisconsin's Hunter struck first for the Badgers, recording her first goal of the season at 4:05 in the first period off an assist from freshman defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar. The score stayed at 1-0 until Friesen found the net at 11:59 in the second period, putting the Badgers up 2-0. Hunter assisted on the score, giving UW their largest lead of the day.
Down by two goals, the Buckeyes started the third period very aggressively and scored what would be their first and only goal of the day at 3:11. The goal was scored on a power play by junior wing Meaghan Mulvaney off assists by senior center Erin O'Grady and freshman defender Tessa Bonhomme. Despite a valiant effort of 27 attempted shots, OSU had a hard time trying to put the puck past Dufour.
Up 2-1 early in the third, UW held off a potential rally by the Buckeyes and managed to score once again with under two minutes left in regulation to put the game out of reach. The Badgers' third goal of the day was by junior forward Amy Vermeulen, assisted by Friesen and freshman forward Sara Bauer.
Overall, Wisconsin played stellar defense and controlled the puck for the majority of the afternoon. Their style of play was much more aggressive Sunday, taking a total of 60 shots on goal compared to only 36 on Saturday. Chalking up their Sunday victory, the Badgers improved their record to 5-3-0 overall while the Buckeyes dropped to 1-5-0.
UW now prepares for a road trip that will not see them back at the Kohl Center until Jan. 17. Their journey begins next Friday in Minnesota with a weekend series against Bemidji State.
