For the second straight weekend, the Wisconsin women's hockey team dropped the first game of a weekend series against a supposedly weaker WCHA opponent, only to come back in the second game and take a victory.
This weekend, Bemidji State—a team picked in WCHA preseason polls to finish last in the conference—topped the Badgers 1-0 behind a 35-save shutout effort from sophomore goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova Friday night, before Wisconsin salvaged a split with a 3-1 victory Sunday.
In their opening two series, the defending national champions have faced two teams predicted to finish in the WCHA cellar, North Dakota and Bemidji, and come away with a 2-2 record.
Coming into Friday's matchup with the Beavers, Wisconsin knew Tomcikova would be hard to beat, and the goaltender lived up to that expectation. A second-period goal from Bemidji's Annie Bauerfield was all the offense the Beavers would need as they took the series opener.
Two days later, Wisconsin rebounded from their disappointing loss and earned a victory behind goals from forwards Kelly Nash, Mallory Deluce and Breann Frykas. The Badgers' goaltender competition continued at Bemidji, with freshman Becca Ruegsegger and senior Alannah McCready starting on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
