In a stirring series that included a 17-penalty game and a charged tribute to their seniors, the No. 7 Badgers (15-9-2) WCHA, 19-9-2 overall) saw their offense ignite against the University of Minnesota-Duluth (13-12-1-0, 14-13-3). The wins—a decisive 3-1 victory Saturday and a 3-2 overtime thriller on Sunday—cap off what has been an exceptional first season for UW in its new home, LaBahn Arena. The next time the Badgers play at LaBahn, they will be hosting their opponents in the WCHA playoffs.
“Home-ice advantage is huge for us,” senior forward Brianna Decker said after Sunday night’s win. “We have great fans. I think it’ll definitely be an advantage in the coming weeks.”
The Badgers locked up home-ice advantage during Saturday’s game, which was penalty-laden on both sides. In the first period alone, there were 10 penalties. Three were assessed on a single skirmish.
“That’s the fun part about this game, you never know what’s going to happen,” head coach Mark Johnson said in regard to the physical play. “I didn’t anticipate having so many penalties on both sides of the equation.”
A penalty to UMD’s captain, senior defenseman Jessica Wong, led to a power-play goal by senior defenseman Alev Kelter midway through the first period, which put the Badgers up 1-0. The Badgers scored again on the power play in the second period after UMD sophomore defender Brigette Lacquette took her third penalty of the game. Junior forward Madison Packer capitalized on the opportunity and gave the Badgers a two-goal lead with 13 minutes to go in the second period.
In the third period, UMD raised its intensity level, only to be shut down time and time again by the Badgers. On a UMD penalty, Lacquette’s fourth, Packer deflected a Decker shot with her shoulder to make it 3-0. Senior goaltender Alex Rigsby was less than two minutes away from a shutout when Duluth freshman forward Aleksandra Vafina tapped in a rebound off of what looked like a perfect save.
“I thought I had it,” Rigsby said of the goal. “I didn’t feel it slip out. They got a girl right there to bang it in.”
Despite the late goal by UMD, the Badgers won 3-1 in what turned out to be a huge night for Wisconsin’s power play.
“It’s a huge confidence booster for us to be good on the power play,” said Packer, who tallied two of Wisconsin’s three power play goals. “It’s a good tool to have.”
Sunday’s game was preceded by senior day, where Wisconsin’s five seniors were honored in a tearful pregame ceremony. Senior defender Saige Pacholok reflected on her time at Wisconsin as she skated out to play her last regular season game at home.
“Every moment was so much fun,” she said. “I’ve had such a great experience here. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
After an intense opening to the game, in which Johnson placed his five seniors in the starting lineup, both teams came out with energy and intensity. The first period, in stark contrast to the first period of Saturday’s game, was penalty-free. The teams were both scoreless until the second period. Just two minutes into the period, Decker scored Wisconsin’s first even-strength goal of the series. UMD responded with a goal of its own midway through the period from sophomore forward Jenna McParland.
“We had a lot of opportunities, a lot of good scoring chances,” Coach Johnson said. “We didn’t capitalize as much as we’d have liked to.”
In the third period, Duluth took its first lead of the series on a power play goal scored by junior forward Jamie Kenyon. Down 2-1, the Badgers struggled to maintain offensive zone pressure. The chances were back-and-forth until sophomore forward Blayre Turnbull tied the game with a little more than five minutes remaining. The third period drew to a close and the two teams headed into overtime.
Upon winning a faceoff in the Duluth end, Decker flew past her opponent and buried the puck in the net, giving Wisconsin a momentous 3-2 win. A bench-clearing celebration ensued.
“She’s a natural goal scorer,” Pacholok said of Decker. “Somebody was going to come up big and if it was anybody, it’d be her. I think it’s great for her to end the LaBahn season like that.”
“I had an opportunity to score, and I put it away,” Decker said. “I made it count. It was a nice way to end senior day.”
Having finished their regular season at La Bahn, Wisconsin will play Bemidji State next weekend at Bemidji. After that, the Badgers will look forward to the WCHA playoffs, where they will play at La Bahn once more. For the seniors, Sunday’s game was the beginning of a series of lasts. But they aren’t letting that distract them from what’s ahead.
