For five of the Wisconsin women's hockey team's first six series, there was a troubling trend the Badgers tried to stop. With the exception of their sweep over Minnesota, the Badgers have lost or tied their opponent in the first game of the series only to come back and take a victory in the second.
Against St. Cloud State this weekend, however, the Badgers broke that trend, but probably not in the way head coach Tracey DeKeyser would have liked.
Wisconsin took a 2-1 road victory over the Huskies Friday, but fell in the second game 4-2, breaking their first-game loss trend but notching their sixth split series of the season.
The Badger penalty kill was a key to victory in the first game, holding St. Cloud State scoreless on six power plays, including a pair of 5-on-3 advantages in the first period. Freshman goaltender Becca Ruegsegger started both games for Wisconsin and recorded 29 saves Friday to secure the Badgers' narrow lead.
After being held scoreless through the first period, Wisconsin struck just 1:12 into the second period when sophomore forward Brooke Ammerman scored on a rebound.
Ammerman, the Badgers' leading scorer, added another goal Saturday, meaning she now has scored a point in every game since Wisconsin's shutout loss to North Dakota in the season opener.
Freshman forward Breann Frykas scored the Badgers' game-winning goal on a rebound from sophomore forward Carolyne Prevost in the third period.
DeKeyser said she was proud of the team for getting its second win in a series' opening game.
""That's a huge accomplishment for our team,"" she said. ""I know that we have been close many times, but it was rewarding to get the win and I felt confident with our abilities and the scoring chances we had.""
The next day, however, the Badger defense was less stellar.
Ammerman's second goal of the weekend gave Wisconsin an early 1-0 lead with a top-shelf shot. After St. Cloud State tied the game at one with a power-play goal later in the period, Prevost stayed in front of three pursuing Huskies on a breakaway to score a shorthanded goal for another 2-1 lead.
But three unanswered St. Cloud State goals, including another on the power play, ended the Badgers' hopes for a sweep and handed the Huskies a 4-2 win.
While St. Cloud State was 2-for-8 on their power-play chances, Wisconsin ended the weekend 0-for-7, continuing the Badgers' inability to convert while on the one-player advantage. So far this year, Wisconsin is 5-for-59 on the power play.
The Badgers must now recover from the loss and prepare to face out-of-conference opponent Providence Nov. 27 and 28 on the road.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
