Wisconsin Tops St. Cloud State 5-2
November 04, 2005 | Women's Hockey
The No. 3 Wisconsin women's hockey team topped Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival, St. Cloud State, 5-2 Friday at the Kohl Center in front of an audience of 1,023. The Badgers rose to 7-1-0 overall and 5-1-0 in the conference, while the Huskies fell to 2-5-0 overall and in the conference.
The Badgers entered the rink ready to play, scoring three goals in the first period. Junior Sara Bauer (St. Catharines, Ontario) lead UW with four points in the game, scoring her first on a power-play goal just 5:50 into the opening period. Passes from teammates Tia Hanson (Medicine Hat, Alberta) and Bobbi-Jo Slusar (Swift Current, Saskatchewan) earned them assists early in the game.
The second goal of the game came at 9:00 when right wing Jinelle Zaugg (Eagle River, Wis.) took a shot and scored right in front of the crease. Assists were credited to Bauer and Sharon Cole (Bloomington, Minn.).
With only 2:51 remaining on the play clock in the first period, Slusar attacked from the center blue line, her slap shot sped through the zone defense and for a score on the power play to make the score 3-0 heading into the first intermission.
The Huskies answered back entering the second period at 5:55, when sophomore center Laura Fast scored on an unassisted goal from the crease. SCSU seemed to come alive in the second as the pace picked up, but the scoreboard remained unchanged.
Both teams remained scoreless for almost 20 minutes after the fourth goal of the game. Wisconsin newcomer Kayla Hagen (Crosslake, Minn.) ended the dry spell 4:10 into the final period. Cyndy Kenyon (Sparta, Wis.) passed the puck to Nikki Burish (Madison, Wis.) who took a shot. Hagen collected the rebound and snuck it behind the goalie 's right skate for the score.
Nearing end of the game with 1:02 remaining, St. Cloud State scored on a power-play goal. With multiple Wisconsin penalties and just three Badgers on the ice, Hailey Clarkson netted the goal after assists were provided by Marie-Michel Lemieux and Randie Jelinski.
The Badgers scored the final goal of the game at 19:29 on a short-handed empty-netter from Zaugg. Assists were credited to Bauer and Meghan Mikkelson (St. Alberta, Alberta).
Wisconsin goalie Meghan Horras collected 25 saves in the win against the Huskies. SCSU goaltender Lauri St. Jacques accumulated 33 saves of her own.
Wisconsin has a winning record (23-3-0) against SCSU since competition began in 1999. During the 2004-05 season, the Badgers defeated the Huskies in each of their five meetings. Most recently, the Badgers defeated the Huskies 3-1 in the WCHA tournament quarterfinals en route to the championship game.
The Badgers take to the ice again Saturday against St. Cloud State for the second game of the series. The puck is set to drop at noon.
