On Saturday and Sunday, the Wisconsin Badgers (18-7-1, 14-5-1 WCHA) faced off against the Minnesota State Mavericks (13-13-0, 7-13-0) at home and managed to spark another winning streak following five consecutive losses. They narrowly overtook the Mavericks Saturday, 2-1, before stampeding their way to a 6-0 victory Sunday.
“We were in a slump for a little bit and I think the first step of ending that is just getting back into the win column,” Badger forward Lacy Eden said in a UW Athletics release.
Saturday started out with goalie Cami Kronish in goal and the Badgers winning the face-off. Neither team could take control, and no goals were scored. Despite not scoring, Wisconsin successfully killed off a penalty drawn by Caroline Harvey with 15 minutes left.
The second period began similarly to the first, however, Captain Britta Curl kicked off the scoring with just under 10 minutes left. After a shot was attempted by Nicole LaMantia, the rebound was backhanded in by the senior, putting the Badgers up 1-0. Curl’s goal would be the only score in the period.
Wisconsin won the face-off to start the third and padded their lead with a goal from Eden. Assisted by Claire Enright, Eden’s rocket was her 15th goal of the season and pushed the score to 2-0. Wisconsin then drew a penalty and the Mavericks were able to capitalize on the power play, making the score 2-1 Badgers.
Minnesota State wouldn’t be able to muster another goal for the rest of the game, giving the Badgers a much-needed win.
Sunday, the Badgers came out playing aggressively — drawing a penalty in the first 10 seconds. The Mavericks were unable to capitalize, and Wisconsin responded with the first goal of the game with under ten minutes left in the period. Assisted by Jesse Compher and Chayla Edwards, Eden received the puck just outside of the goal crease, quickly got the shot off and put the Badgers up 1-0.
Enright kicked off the scoring shortly after the second period began. The freshman caught a Minnesota State player off guard and smacked the puck out of the air, into the goal, putting the score at 2-0 Wisconsin.
Curl made sure to add to the lead before the period was over, as she extended the Badger lead to 3-0 with three minutes left in the period. Sliding awkwardly on one knee, Curl shot the puck through a tight window past the goalie for one of the most impressive Badger goals in recent memory.
With under two minutes left in the period, Harvey added another score off of a power play. The goal was assisted by Sophie Shirley and Kronish and shot all the way from the offensive blue line.
Throughout the third period, Wisconsin maintained an advantage in shots over the Mavericks. Grace Shirley extended the lead to 5-0 with a tip-in off an assist from Harvey and Marianne Picard. O’Brien made sure every second of the game counted, as she scored with just six seconds left in the game. The final score was 6-0 Wisconsin.
“Obviously things weren’t really going our way in terms of scoring the past couple of weekends, but I think we kind of came together as a group and worked as hard as we could to get the puck in the net,” Kronish said after Sunday’s triumphant victory.
Next week, Wisconsin will take on the University of St. Thomas in Mendota Heights, Minnesota at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday — where the Badgers will look to create a new winning streak.
