MINNEAPOLIS - Wisconsin freshman defenseman Anne Dronen picked the right time to score her first collegiate goal. Returning home, the Minneapolis-area native ignited a strong weekend for the Badgers, scoring the game-winning goal on Saturday as Wisconsin recorded a 5-1 victory against Minnesota and a 2-2 tie on Sunday. The three points propelled Wisconsin to a third-place finish in the WCHA standings.
The Badgers handed the Gophers their first home loss this season at Ridder Arena. Wisconsin scored first on Saturday when freshman forward Hilary Knight scored her first career point against the Gophers, putting home a rebound off of a shot by junior forward Erika Lawler for the 1-0 lead in the first period.
The Badgers went up 2-0 on Dronen's goal in the second frame. The rookie received the puck from Knight in the high slot and fired a shot past Minnesota junior goaltender Kim Hanlon. Dronen's goal was her first NCAA point.
That was pretty special. That's definitely going to be one of my career highlights right there,"" Dronen said.
Leading 2-1 heading into the third period, the Badgers flipped on the offensive switch. Senior forward Jinelle Zaugg centered a pass that hit off of a Gopher defenseman and trickled in for the 3-1 lead.
Sophomore forward Meghan Duggan scored shorthanded off a faceoff and then scored her team-leading 17th goal later in the period to close out the scoring. She entered the weekend as Wisconsin's current points-per-game leader against Minnesota and continued her success against the Gophers.
""It's great to play against these guys,"" Duggan said. ""I think it's just an extra chip on everyone's shoulder when we play the Gophers.""
The Gophers had their best chance to score in the third period when senior center Bobbi Ross had a breakaway on Badger junior goalie Jessie Vetter. Ross was stopped by Vetter, who made the save look easy, kicking the puck away to preserve the lead.
Wisconsin fired 37 shots on goal, while Minnesota managed 33 on Vetter.
""The offense played really well tonight,"" Vetter said. ""They crashed the net well and we just got the stick on a lot of pucks and they went in the net.""
UW head coach Mark Johnson said it was important for his team to start the game off strongly on the road.
""I like the energy we came out with,"" Johnson said. ""We never gave them the opportunity to get the crowd involved.""
On Sunday, the Badgers came from behind twice in the tying effort.
Trailing 1-0 in the second period, junior defenseman Alycia Matthews scored to knot the game up, and then Knight scored the contest's final goal in the third period, evening the score up at two.
Wisconsin outshot Minnesota 25-24, including a 3-2 advantage in the overtime period.
The Badgers now will host Minnesota State next weekend at the Kohl Center in the WCHA Playoffs. Currently, Wisconsin sits at sixth in the PairWise Rankings, giving them a two-spot cushion in the NCAA Tournament field.
