MINNEAPOLIS — Win and you are in. That was the magnitude of the semifinal matchup in the WCHA Final Face-Off between the second-seeded Wisconsin women’s hockey team and third-seeded North Dakota Friday night in Minneapolis at Ridder Arena.
However, the Badgers (17-9-2 WCHA, 23-10-2 overall) were outplayed by UND from start to finish, as North Dakota (18-9-1, 26-11-1) sealed a spot in their first WCHA conference championship game with a 2-1 victory.
“Obviously, when you lose and don’t get to move on [to play in the WCHA championship game], it’s disappointing. I feel bad for our seniors,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “Certainly, the game, if you could start it over again, you would like to take that opportunity, but that’s the part of the season where it’s one-and-done.”
North Dakota came out of the gates with a sense of urgency, as they were the aggressors offensively with a 6-1 lead in shots on goal early on in the first period.
Their aggressive play paid off on the scoreboard for UND. Senior forward Ashley Furia redirected a shot fired from just inside the blue line, sneaking it through the legs of junior goaltender Alex Rigsby at the 12:36 mark to take the early 1-0 lead. Despite significantly outmaneuvering the opposition, North Dakota only held a slight 11-8 shots on goal advantage.
North Dakota did not let down their guard throughout the second, as they continued to apply pressure in both zones and held UW’s offensive weapons in check.
Moreover, UND owned a significant margin in shots on goal with a 10-3 advantage, led by freshman defenseman Sam LaShomb and freshman forward Meghan Dufault with two shots each.
“I think we came out in the second period with a little more energy and a little more hop in our step, which I think impacted the game a little bit better,” senior forward Brianna Decker said.
With the outcome hanging in the balance in the final period of play, North Dakota rose to the occasion and added on to their one-goal lead early in the period. At the 6:04 mark, senior defenseman and first-team WCHA selection Monique Lamoureux converted on a shot from the point, putting Wisconsin in a difficult uphill battle with 13:56 remaining.
However, the Badgers would fight their way back. With just under four minutes remaining, freshman forward Erika Sowchuk was in the right place at the right time in front of the net and scored past redshirt freshman goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie to cut the deficit to 2-1.
As the final minutes ticked off the clock, desperation mode kicked in as Johnson pulled Rigsby with under a minute remaining. Decker had a golden opportunity for the equalizer with ten seconds remaining from the far wing but Amsley-Benzie shut the door on the Badgers’ comeback effort and sealed the 2-1 victory.
With the loss, Wisconsin’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament were slim, and their fate was ultimately decided Sunday, as they were not one of the eight teams selected.
