Wisconsin Settles For Tie Vs. Minnesota
December 05, 2004 | Women's Hockey
The No. 4 Wisconsin women's hockey team led top-ranked Minnesota throughout game two of the weekend series. A late Gopher goal sent the game to overtime where Wisconsin held off two Minnesota power-plays and inked its first tie of the season. The Badgers are now 11-4-1 overall and 7-4-1 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play. The Gophers remain unbeaten this season and stand with a 14-0-2 overall record and 12-0-2 in the WCHA.
Senior Molly Engstrom made a statement early in the game, firing a slapshot towards the goal on the power play at 5:20 in the first. Caught off guard, Gopher netminder Jody Horak deflected the shot into the net, putting the Badgers on the board. Wisconsin held its ground through the rest of the period and sent the Gophers to the break scoreless.
Olympian Natalie Darwitz returned the favor, scoring on the power-play at 3:35 in the second period. Equalized, the teams battled through the period that featured four of Wisconsin's 10 penalties on the day. Wisconsin's penalty-kill stayed strong shutting down the Gophers' impressive power play on eight of ten opportunities.
At 16:03 senior assistant captain, Jackie Friesen found herself charging down the ice with junior Nikki Burish. Burish nailed a shot to the net that bounced off Horak's legs. Without skipping a beat, Friesen grabbed the rebound and snapped the puck past Horak for the score. Not to be outdone, Darwitz scored just 23 seconds after Friesen to tie it up again.
Newcomer Jinelle Zaugg notched her third goal as a Badger at 5:29 in the third and put the Badgers up 3-2 with just under 15 minutes to play. The whistle blew on Wisconsin for the eighth time in the game at 11:03 when Sara Bauer was called for body checking. Down one, Wisconsin succumbed to Kelly Stephens and the Gopher power-play at 11:46. With the clocking ticking, the teams kept each other in check and sent the game to overtime.
In Wisconsin's first overtime game of the season, the Badgers were forced onto the penalty-kill for half of the five-minute period. Captain Carla MacLeod was charged with a hooking call at 2:22 and moments after her return, Friesen took a seat with a tripping charge at 4:36. The short-handed Badgers were unable to take any shots in overtime.
In goal for the Badgers, Meghan Horras kept her cool collecting 36 saves on the day, including five overtime saves to preserve the tie. The number would have tied her career-high if not for her 39 saves against Harvard this season. On the other end of the ice, Horak stopped 14 shots.
The series ended Wisconsin's short homestand as they travel to Mankato, Minn. to take on Minnesota State, Dec. 10-11. The Mavericks are 3-8-5 this season and have never won a game in the all-time series vs. the Badgers. Standing at 19-0-1, the Badgers tied the Mavericks on Nov. 30, 2002. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Friday and 3:05 p.m. Saturday.
