Badgers Best Mavericks 3-0 In Mankato
November 14, 2003 | Women's Hockey
The seventh-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team handed 10th-ranked Minnesota State its first conference loss in a 3-0 shutout on the road at MSU's All Seasons Arena.
Wisconsin's Steph Millar earned two assists to lead the Badgers in scoring, while teammates Jackie Friesen, Meghan Hunter and Karen Rickard all scored a goal in the win.
Frosh goaltender Christine Dufour earned her fourth consecutive start in net for UW and put up nine saves for the her second career shutout. Minnesota State goaltender Shari Vogt collected 37 saves in the MSU loss.
Outshooting the home team 18-1, Wisconsin jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against Minnesota State in the first period courtesy of strong play on special teams. Taking advantage of the Mavericks' penalty trouble, UW junior Jackie Friesen beat Vogt in net at 6:26 on the power-play. Frosh Meaghan Mikkelson played the puck off the boards to junior Nicole Uliasz up near the blue line and the UW defender set up Friesen with the scoring opportunity.
Wisconsin's assistant captains notched the Badgers' second power-play goal with just over two minutes left in the period. Working the puck patiently around the Maverick net, senior Meghan Hunter passed to fellow senior Steph Millar down ice and streaked in for Millar's returning cross pass in front of Vogt for the lamplighter at 17:20.
In the second period, Minnesota State came back into the game tallying seven shots on goal to Wisconsin's 10, but despite the more even play between these two teams, the Badgers' lead grew to 3-0. Senior Karen Rickard racked up her sixth score of the season at 17:09 with an assist from Millar.
The Mavericks held the Badgers scoreless in the third period, despite another Wisconsin barrage of 12 shots on goal to Minnesota State's one to end the game in an MSU loss.
Now 8-3-0 overall and 4-3-0 in the WCHA, Wisconsin returns to the Minnesota State ice Saturday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. for game two of the series against the Mavericks (7-2-0 overall and 4-1-0 in league play). With tonight's win, the Badgers extended their winning streak to 16-0-1 all-time against the Mavericks. A full recap for Saturday's game will be available on uwbadgers.com.
