With superstar goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens in net, the Badgers have become accustomed to watching opponents grow dismayed as even their best scoring chances fail to find the back of the net.
The tables were turned on Saturday as Wisconsin’s skaters saw shot after shot stifled by Minnesota goaltender Sidney Peters.
Peters recorded a career-high 37 save shutout as the Gophers (12-1-2 WCHA, 14-1-2 overall) defeated the Badgers (10-2-1, 14-2-1) by a score of 2-0 at LaBahn Arena to snap Wisconsin’s 29-game home unbeaten streak.
The game’s margin came on two goals from senior Kate Schipper, the first on a power play late in the second period. A Wisconsin defenseman lost her stick, opening up a lane for Schipper to put the puck high and hard past Desbiens for a 1-0 lead.
Senior captain Sydney McKibbon refused to blame the lost stick for the goal, and emphasized the need for the Badgers to stay out of the penalty box in this series.
“That shouldn’t really be open and we had someone there we just couldn’t block it off,” said McKibbon. “They’ve got a great power play, I think they’re number one in the nation, so it’s hard to go up against.”
Both teams started the game with energy, but it was the Gophers who managed to create the majority of the quality scoring chances. Desbiens, back in net for the first time after a four-game absence due to injury, looked sharp from the outset.
“They came out to start the game and they had good jump and good puck possession and they put us on our heels for most of the period,” said coach Mark Johnson. “[Desbiens] was good, she held us in there in the first period. They had a couple flurries, especially on their first power play and she made a couple real in tight, close saves that kept them off the scoreboard.”
The teams mostly traded chances throughout the second period, until a tripping call on sophomore forward Sam Cogan gave the Gophers a power play. One broken stick and 42 seconds later, Schipper had given Minnesota the lead.
“We had an opportunity on a power play, got a couple chances but weren’t able to put the puck in the net,” said Johnson. “It’s a lot of little things and when you do get an opportunity, it’s who’s going to be able to capitalize on that opportunity, and they were able to do it.”
Down a goal, Wisconsin came out firing on all cylinders in the third period, and outshot Minnesota 16-6 in the final frame. The Badgers created several high-quality scoring opportunities, including a shot from junior forward Annie Pankowski that hit the crossbar, but were ultimately unable to find the back of the net before Schipper added an empty net goal in the final minute to put the score at 2-0.
“We’ve gotta put pucks in the net, you can’t win a game 0-0 so I think we’ll learn from that,” said McKibbon. “I think we just need to recover today, watch some video and learn from our mistakes.”
