Wisconsin Drops to No. 1 Minnesota
December 04, 2004 | Women's Hockey
No. 4 Wisconsin could not finish its chances in its first game back at the Kohl Center in over a month as it dropped a 2-0 loss to No. 1 Minnesota. The Badgers fell to 11-4-0 overall and 7-4-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Gophers remain unbeaten this season with a 14-0-1 overall record and a 12-0-1 mark in conference play.
'We played a pretty solid, 60-minute game,' said head coach Mark Johnson. 'We made one mistake right at the end of the power-play when Natalie (Darwitz) scored. Other than that we played a pretty balanced game. They tried to get some energy going, they tried to get some offense going, but we held our ground. As far as team effort, it was there, but we just needed to find some energy and score some goals. '
The first period brought several scoring opportunities for both teams, including one power-play for Wisconsin. Still, the teams retreated to the locker rooms scoreless after one.
The second stanza looked to be heading in the Badgers' favor as they stepped up their defense allowing just two shots on goal. Unfortunately, one of those shots made it past sophomore netminder Christine Dufour nearing the midpoint of the game. Wisconsin had just killed a penalty at 11:02 when Natalie Darwitz poked the puck in at 11:01.
With the Gophers up one, Wisconsin buckled down and outshot the Gophers 11-2 to close out the period. Despite their efforts, the Badgers remained scoreless with just one period left to play.
In the third, the Badgers again had their share of chances including a Lindsay Macy breakaway sent high over the goal. After each team took a whistle and killed their penalties, Minnesota's Kelly Stephens found the net and sealed the Gopher victory with just over two minutes left to play.
In net, Dufour marked 21 saves on the afternoon. Minnesota's Jody Horak marked a shutout and 22 saves in the evenly matched contest.
The border battle continues tomorrow at the Kohl Center as Wisconsin again hosts the Gophers. The puck drops at 2:05 p.m. Stay tuned to uwbadgers.com for live stats and game summary.
