In its final road series of the regular season, the No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team (22-2-2-1 WCHA, 28-2-2 overall) swept St. Cloud State (4-22, 5-25-2). The Badgers clinched at least a share of the WCHA regular season championship with the six points they earned over the weekend.
The Badgers used a balanced attack to take down the Huskies Friday, as five different players scored a goal and nine notched points in the 5-0 win.
Wisconsin recorded more than twice as many shots on goal as St. Cloud State. The Badgers had a particularly significant advantage in the first period, outshooting the Huskies 17-4.
Senior forward Hilary Knight got things going for Wisconsin with a backhand goal midway through the first period, and senior forward Carolyne Prévost put the Badgers up 2-0 just two minutes later.
Each side had 12 shots on goal in the second period. While sophomore goaltender Alex Rigsby stopped all 12 Husky shots, St. Cloud State freshman goaltender Julie Friend allowed two more Badger scores.
After junior forward Brianna Decker and freshman forward Blayre Turnbull notched goals in the second period, senior forward Brooke Ammerman scored Wisconsin's final goal on a power play in the third period.
Rigsby tallied 19 saves to record her nation-leading seventh shutout of the season.
Wisconsin dominated St. Cloud State in a similar fashion Saturday, scoring the game's first five goals en route to a 6-2 victory. As was the case Friday, no Badger scored more than one goal.
Freshman forward Katy Josephs opened a barrage of scoring in the first period with her goal less than three minutes into the game. Sophomore forward Brittany Ammerman, Prévost and junior defender Stefanie McKeough each scored during a ten-minute stretch to give the Badgers a commanding 4-0 lead after the first period.
Brooke Ammerman notched her 200th career point with a goal midway though the second period. The senior joined elite company in doing so, as only four Badgers have reached the 200-point mark.
Fellow senior Knight assisted on each of Wisconsin's first five scores, and added a goal of her own in the third period. Knight, the all-time leading point-scorer in Wisconsin history, surpassed the 250-point mark with her six-point showing Saturday.
Junior goaltender Nikki Kaasa recorded one save in four minutes of ice time for the Badgers. It was a homecoming of sorts for the St. Cloud, Minn. native.
Wisconsin will host Ohio State in its final regular season series next weekend at the Kohl Center. The Badgers need only one tie during the series to secure their second consecutive outright WCHA regular season championship.
UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
