UW Completes Sweep, Defeats Mavericks 4-2
October 27, 2007 | Women's Hockey
Freshman Hilary Knight's breakaway goal late in the third period proved to be the game winner as the No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team defeated Minnesota State 4-2 Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
In what was a back-and-forth contest all afternoon, Wisconsin (8-1-1, 4-1-1 WCHA) out-shot Minnesota State 38-18 and junior goaltender Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) made 16 saves to help the Badgers move into first place in the WCHA standings.
The start of the game resembled Friday's contest with the Mavericks (1-4-1, 1-2-1) again striking early. After Wisconsin lost the puck in its own end, Minnesota State 's Lisa Edman fired a shot past Vetter just 2:50 into the first period to put the Mavericks on top 1-0.
Wisconsin did not trail for long though as Jinnelle Zaugg (Eagle River, Wis.) scored at 6:57 of the first to tie the game at one goal apiece. Erica Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass.) passed the puck to Meghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.) on the left side of the net before she fed it across to Zaugg.
The second period was a lot like the first as Minnesota State tallied another early goal. This time it was the Mavericks' Nina Tikkinen, who took the puck from behind the Badger goal and threw it off a UW skater. The puck deflected off the skate and into the back of the goal giving MSU a 2-1 lead just 31 seconds into the second period.
The Badgers tied the game midway through the second period when Jasmine Giles (Ottawa, Ontario) brought the puck all the way up the ice and sent it from the left side of the net across to Kyla Sanders (Parrish, Fla.) who scored on the one-timer. Senior captain Emily Morris (Massena, N.Y.) was also credited with the assist on the goal at 12:26.
It looked like the Badgers may be headed to their second overtime game of the season. However, with less than five minutes remaining in the game, Knight (Hanover, N.H.) gave the Badgers a 3-2 lead. After a Maverick shot ricocheted off Vetter's pads, Alycia Matthews (Castlegar, British Columbia) sent the puck all the way to the red line to a streaking Knight who went on a breakaway and scored five hole on Kehler, putting Wisconsin on top for good.
A little over two minutes later, freshman Olivia Jakiel (Santa Clarita, Calif.) added some insurance for UW. Jakiel scored on a wrist shot all the way from the blue line 18:11 into the final period.
It was a relatively penalty-free game as Minnesota State committed the game's only one while Wisconsin went 1-for-1 on the power play.
The Badgers are back in action next weekend as they face off against border-rival Minnesota Nov. 2-3. Both games are slated to begin at 2 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
