DURHAM, N.H. — “We will get them next year,” is a phrase much too familiar to the No. 2 Wisconsin women’s hockey team (24-3-1 WCHA, 35-4-1 overall) after a hard-fought 3-2 overtime loss to No. 3 Minnesota (24-3-1 WCHA, 34-4-1 overall) in the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four at Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. For Minnesota, it marks the fifth-consecutive trip to the Frozen Four Championship, while for the Badgers, it’s the third consecutive semifinal loss to the rival Gophers and the end of their historic season.
“It’s certainly disappointing, three years in a row in a similar situation and we haven’t been able to get over the hump,” said head coach Mark Johnson. “But as I told my team after the game, they can walk out of the rink here with their heads up.”
The Gophers got on the board first after a quick score from their third-liner freshman forward Taylor Williamson only 2:15 into the contest. The Badgers, however, seemed to use the stress of an early goal to shake the slush off their skates.
Wisconsin didn’t take long to respond, as Minnesota native Sophia Shaver, also a third-line freshman, snuck one past Minnesota’s Amanda Leveille, tying the score at 1-1 going into the second period.
The second period played as a back-and-forth tug-of-war between the two highly talented perennial powers, with each team receiving and ultimately killing a power play apiece. However, with a mere 18 seconds to go in the period, Wisconsin sophomore forward Emily Clark lit the lamp, putting the Badgers up 2-1 heading into the final frame.
“I think any goal in the last minute of play is a huge momentum shift and I think the momentum was definitely going our way leading up to that and that’s what caused that goal,” Clark said. “Going into the locker room though we knew they were going to come out with a hard push. They always come out hard.” It seemed the Badgers were only one more solid defensive period away from finally getting over the Gopher hump and into the championship game. Despite Wisconsin appearing to take control of the momentum heading into the third period, it took Minnesota’s senior Amanda Kessel, a Madison native, only 27 seconds to light the lamp and erase the temporary Wisconsin lead.
“In between the second and the third I thought we were in a pretty good position, it only lasted 28 seconds,” Johnson said.
The rest of the game turned into a distance competition, testing which team could keep their skates sharpest the longest. Despite a late power-play opportunity for Minnesota after UW’s Rachel Jones was called for tripping, the Badgers again killed the penalty and headed into extra minutes, much like the previous Boston College and Clarkson semifinal. It marked the first time in history both NCAA Frozen Four semifinals required extra minutes.
“Every time we play Minnesota it’s a new level of competition for both of us,” Sophia Shaver said of her home state rival.
The overtime period started to wear on players from both sides, as each squad could be seen laboring to get around the Olympic-sized ice sheet. The exhaustion led to a pair of uncharacteristic penalties on Minnesota’s Kelly Pannek, giving the Badgers two big power-play breaks. Despite the disadvantage, Minnesota killed both penalties and even pressured the Badger defense. Wisconsin had some opportunities, but was met by Leveille, who made critical saves in some dangerous moments to give her team a chance.
The final goal came unassisted from WCHA Rookie of the Year, Minnesota forward Sarah Potomak. The puck drifted into the Wisconsin zone and Potomak just kept her skates chopping faster than that of the Badger "D" and got off a concrete shot. The play seemed to surprise both UW defenders as well as the Badger goaltender, junior Ann-Renée Desbiens.
The Minnesota celebration could be heard throughout the underbelly of Whittemore Center. In the postgame press conference, Johnson was noticeably fighting real emotion as he sat next to his players, while the Gophers seemed to have had permanent smiles affixed to each of their faces.
“When the dust clears, they won a league championship, a playoff championship. We came up a little bit short on the national championship,” Johnson said.
The Badgers finish the season with 35 wins, the fourth-most in program history, as well a program record of 21-0 at home. They also set the new standard in shutouts, both consecutive (9) and seasonal (23). They had the best penalty kill in the nation, which led them to the best scoring defense of all time (0.72 goals allowed per game).
“They have a lot of things to be proud of,” Johnson said.
The historic Badger defense was headlined by Desbiens, a finalist for the 2016 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Desbiens finished the season with three NCAA records including save percentage (.960), goals-against-average (0.76) and shutouts (21). In addition, she finished the night with a career-high 38 saves in the semi-final match.
“I think you saw tonight, she’s one of the reasons why we were here. With her performance, she was very consistent, especially the second half of the year,” Johnson said. “She seemed to elevate her team and increase her confidence and made it fairly challenging for other teams to score. We’re very proud of her, and she’s got a lot to be proud of.”
