Game of the Year nominee: Women's hockey claims WCHA playoff crown
July 10, 2016 | General News, Women's Hockey
Desbiens, McKibbon lead Badgers to 1-0 win over rival Minnesota to capture second-straight playoff title
The Badgers enjoyed success across a number of sports in 2015-16, so UWBadgers.com is honoring the student-athletes, teams, performances and moments that made for another special season at Wisconsin. Over the span of a few weeks, we'll unveil the best of the Badgers in five categories: Big Ten Medal of Honor (June 14-17), Athlete of the Year (June 20-24), Team of the Year (June 27-July 2), Game of the Year (July 5-11) and Moment of the Year (July 12-20). Today, we highlight a Game of the Year nominee: women's hockey's 1-0 victory over Minnesota to capture the WCHA playoff crown.
Game of the Year Nominees
July 5: Women's Soccer vs. Michigan
July 6: Volleyball at Nebraska
July 7: Men's Hockey at North Dakota
July 8: Football vs. USC (Holiday Bowl)
July 9: Men's Basketball vs. Michigan State
July 10: Women's Hockey vs. Minnesota (WCHA championship game)
July 11:
The winner of the fifth Border Battle game of the year would go on to earn the league's automatic spot in the NCAA tournament and secure the No. 2 seed in the tournament, while the loser would earn the No. 3 seed in the national tournament.Â
The Badgers were up to the task as 2016 WCHA Player of the Year Ann-Renée Desbiens made a career-high 35 saves and Sydney McKibbon scored midway through the second as the Badgers blanked the Golden Gophers, 1-0, at Minnesota's home barn.Â
"It's huge for us," McKibbon said. "We've been 2-2 against them this year, so this was kind of for all the marbles. Championship Sunday is a big day, so we were pretty hyped up for this game. It's a confidence builder going into next weekend, whatever happens and wherever we end up."
The triumph gave UW its second-straight WCHA playoff title and its sixth tournament crown in program history.
Wisconsin was outshot 35-24 by Minnesota,, but Desbiens stopped every Gopher attempt at net, including 27 saves in the final 40 minutes. A top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, Desbiens leads the nation with a 0.73 goals-against average, and a .961 save percentage. The La Malbaie, Quebec, native added to her NCAA single-season record with her 20th shutout of the year.
"At no point early in the season were we talking about defense and shutouts like this - it just transpired," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "Every season has a story. I've been in hockey a long time, I've never had a story with shutout streaks and a defense like this."
Wisconsin allowed Minnesota to take only eight shots on goal in the first period, as both Desbiens and Minnesota goaltender Amanda Leveille held strong to keep the game scoreless thought the first frame.
Minnesota took charge of the second period, outshooting Wisconsin 13-7, but Desbiens made numerous big saves to keep her team in the game.
McKibbon's goal came at the 13:12 mark of the period, when line mate Rachel Jones shot the puck low on Leveille. McKibbon crashed in on the crease, knocking the puck loose and into the back of the net for the eventual game-winning tally.
"Rachel Jones made a nice play, she had the puck in the slot and I was just yelling 'shoot, shoot, shoot' because I had the screen in front," McKibbon said of her goal. "She got a nice shot off and I just kind of whacked away and luckily it went in."
The teams fought through a scoreless defensive battle in the final stanza, and Minnesota pulled Leveille for an extra attacker in the final minute but could not capitalize. The Badgers' defense held off Dani Cameranesi and Hanna Brandt, who rank first and second respectively in WCHA scoring.
Desbiens made a game-high 14 saves in the third period, while her teammates blocked six of Minnesota's shot attempts.
"To be honest, they're all just as important," Desbiens said of her 35 saves. "Sometimes it's not pretty but you have to do whatever you have to do. That's what I tried to do."
"You never know what's going to happen when it's a 0-0 game, one goal can be the decider," McKibbon said. "Ann-Renee played unbelievable and made some huge saves for us."
