GRAND FORKS, N.D. – In a battle between two of the nation's top defenses, the top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team clipped No. 9 North Dakota, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon at Ralph Engelstad Arena. 

Junior Emily Clark put the Badgers (6-0-1, 4-0-1-1 WCHA) up 1-0 with 13 minutes left in the third period before senior Sarah Nurse sealed the victory with a late empty-net goal.

"It was definitely a tough game," Clark said. "They have a lot of skill and a lot of speed and they're a hard team to play. It's obviously very physical and a little more of a grittier game, but I'm really proud of how our team kept getting better throughout the game."

Senior Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her 41st career shutout, stopping all 16 shots she faced from the Fighting Hawks (4-2-1, 3-2-0-0 WCHA).

"She looked good," UW head coach Mark Johnson said about his senior goaltender. "She stopped two breakaways, and it was one of those games where pucks are bouncing and funny things happen. We're on a power play when all of a sudden they end up with a breakaway late in the second period, but she was able to make a couple nice saves. She seemed to be zoned in, focused and it was certainly another great shutout for us."

After a scoreless first period where UW outshot UND 9-5, the Badger offense started to find its grove in the second period. The Badgers outshot the Fighting Hawks 19-2 and held UND without a shot for the first 17 minutes of the second period.

But UND got its best scoring chance late in the period as Desbiens stopped a short-handed breakaway to keep the game scoreless after 40 minutes.

"I definitely want to do the little things right and stay focused," Desbiens said. "So it's definitely nice to be able to make those saves because in a tie game like this, it's super important and it's always close against North Dakota. So I have to make sure I stay sharp to give my team a win, and I think that's what I did today."

UW continued its pressure in the third and was rewarded with the lead seven minutes into the period. After Annie Pankowski launched a rocket that was making its way across the goal line, Clark made sure the puck found the back of the net, tapping it across the goal line to tally her fourth strike of the season. 

"I think that line tonight certainly created a lot of opportunities," Johnson said. "Give North Dakota credit because they blocked a lot of shots and we missed the net on some opportunities. If you want to score you've got to get in the dirty areas and Clark had one of those types of goals where it was a rebound and she happened to be in the right place. She was able to score a big goal that ended up being the game-winner. She's a big player, she's playing well, and hopefully she continues to."

Three of Clark's four goals this year have been game-winning efforts, while her 14 career game-winners are tied for ninth in program history.

"I think I've just been fortunate to get a lot of good opportunities in the games," Clark said. "Today, the puck was just sitting there and I just finished the job."

Nurse tacked on an empty-net goal with nine seconds remaining, firing the puck in for her fourth goal of the year. Sydney McKibbon and Pankowski recorded assists on the insurance tally for the Badgers.

Wisconsin outshot the Fighting Hawks 40-16, while neither team was able to convert on a power play. 

The Badgers and Fighting Hawks wrap up their series on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest. The series finale will be shown on Midco Sports Network and on Fox College Sports Atlantic.