The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team swept the No. 8 St. Cloud State Huskies twice — 6-0 on Nov. 1 and 4-0 on Nov. 2.
An explosive start
The Badgers opened with a powerful first period, scoring four goals, the first three occurring in a three-minute time frame, while the Huskies scored a meek zero.
Just 32 seconds into the first period of the first game in the series, Wisconsin defender Vivian Jungels scored. Merely a minute later, forward Cassie Hall managed to evade three Husky defenders to score the second goal for the Badgers. Defender Ava Murphy added to the Badgers’ lead with a shot through traffic from the left dot, the puck hit the back of the net for a third time – just a minute after Hall’s goal.
Defender Caroline Harvey closed out the first period with a goal, giving the Badgers a 4-0 lead and marking her second point of the game after assisting the first goal.
The energy did not dissipate in the second period. The Badgers killed a penalty with a couple of big saves from sophomore goaltender Ava McNaughton, who prevented the Huskies from scoring.
Lacey Eden screened the Husky goalie, allowing Laila Edwards to find the back of the net, growing the Badgers’ lead halfway through the second period.
And despite another two power plays awarded to the Huskies, the Badgers killed a 5-on-3, following a 5-on-4 power play, to secure a 5-0 lead by the end of the second period.
Hall’s second goal of the evening tacked on one more for the Badgers midway through the third period.
The Huskies couldn’t score thanks to McNaughton, who completed the game with 27 saves, earning her fourth shutout this season.
Securing the sweep
The Badgers took to the ice on Saturday, continuing their winning streak to 12 after securing the 4-0 sweep against the Huskies.
Despite a lower-scoring game, the Badgers scored four minutes into the first period. Edwards, who scored twice in Friday's game, tipped the puck into the back of the net. With under a minute left in the first period, Maggie Scannell doubled their lead on a rebound shot.
In the second period, the Badgers faced some defensive challenges. After receiving a five-minute penalty, they effectively killed four minutes when a second Badger was sent to the box. Additionally, St. Cloud State pulled their goalie giving them a 6-on-3 advantage. After killing off the remaining 59 seconds, the Huskies’ goalie returned to their net.
The Badgers got their own chance on the power play in the second period and capitalized. Receiving a shot from Harvy, Eden was able to tip the puck into the net, giving them a 3-0 lead.
With two minutes remaining of the game, St. Cloud pulled their goalie to put in an extra attacker. But Kirsten Simms took advantage of an empty net, ending the game 4-0 for the Badgers.
McNaughton stopped 29 shots this game for her fifth shutout of the year. Wisconsin has shut out its opponents in the last four straight games for the first time since its 2021-22 season.
Clara Strecker is a copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
