After being swept by top ranked Minnesota, Wisconsin handed out a sweep of its own to Minnesota State (7-20-1 WCHA, 12-21-1 overall( this weekend in Mankato, by a score of 5-1 Friday and 3-1 Saturday. The series marked the final regular season matchup of the season for the Badgers (21-5-2, 25-5-2), as post-season conference play begins Feb. 28.
Friday night, Junior forward Blayre Turnbull scored two short-handed goals in the third period to give Wisconsin the win. With the two goals, Turnbull set the school record for the most short-handed goals in a season with five. Her seven career short-handed goals are tied for third on the school’s all-time list with Sara Bauer.
“It comes down to the three other girls I’m on the penalty kill with,” Turnbull said. “They are doing their job, and I’ve been lucky to get to pucks when they bounce out of our defensive end. Our penalty kill has been good and consistent and we know what to do and when to pressure.”
Rachel Jones opened up the scoring for Wisconsin, recording her third goal of the season, slapping in her own rebound past MSU goaltender and reigning WCHA Defensive Player of the Week Danielle Butters to give UW a 1-0 lead. Brittany Ammerman tallied her 22nd goal of the year off a feed by Turnbull to give the Badgers a 2-0 advantage with just under six minutes left in the first.
The Mavericks cut the Wisconsin lead in half midway through the second period, as Kelsie Scott capitalized on a UW miscue to make it a 2-1 game.
Turnbull finished off the scoring for Wisconsin, adding her two goals in the final eight minutes. Senior Alex Rigsby picked up her 97th career win, stopping 20 shots. Danielle Butters collected 45 saves in the loss for the Mavericks. Wisconsin outshot MSU 50-21.
Saturday night, a balanced attack helped the Badgers complete the sweep, as sophomore Courtney Burke, freshman Sydney McKibbon and sophomore Erika Sowchuk all found the back of the net for Wisconsin.
"It was a good game," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "It was senior day for them, so they came out and played with some more intensity and more inspired than they might have yesterday. It's a good win for us, it's a great way to finish off the regular season."
After a scoreless first period, Burke found the back of the net on a 5-on-3 power play, launching a rocket past MSU netminder Danielle Butters to give UW a 1-0 lead. After MSU's Lauren Barnes tied up the game early in the third, the Badgers scored two goals in 10 seconds to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Freshman Ann-Renée Desbiens made 27 saves and picked up her 11th win of the year. The Badgers outshot the Mavericks 44-28.
"She played well," Johnson said. "She was one of the reasons why we won the game. She gave us a chance, she made some nice saves. They created some chances on their power play, and she played well. I'm glad I chose to play her as she didn't miss a beat."
