MADISON, Wis. – On a special night for the Badgers, the No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team topped Penn State in a 7-0 victory Friday night at LaBahn Arena after revealing the national championship banner with the 2018-19 team.
Brette Pettet and
Abby Roque each scored a pair of goals while
Maddie Posick,
Sophie Shirley and
Daryl Watts each added goals for the Badgers (3-0-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA) as they blanked the Nittany Lions (0-1-2) in the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
The Badgers came out strong with a top left snipe by Pettet against the Nittany Lions five minutes into the first from a clean pass by senior
Alexis Mauermann and junior
Grace Bowlby.
Posting her first ever career goal at 5:35 in the first, Posick took the puck between the legs from Watts to hit an open left side of the net.
Pettet took away her third goal of the season with a goal assisted by junior
Natalie Buchbinder and sophomore
Nicole LaMantia on the first of two power-play goals for the Badgers.
UW kept up speed in the second as Shirley tipped one in at the 11:52 mark from Roque's backhanded pass off her own rebound.
Wisconsin was on fire in the top of the third period, adding three more goals to the scoreboard.
After a pass-back play with Watts and Steffen, Roque stole a power play top right netter just 36 seconds in and came back with a short-handed one-on-one break away four minutes later.
Watts broke up Roque's goals with a bottom right sweep to net her third goal as a Badger.
Three notes of the game:
- Watts matched her career high with five points off a goal and four assists.
- Wisconsin won its seventh home-opener at LaBahn, earning another shutout to tally five since 2013.
- UW outshot Penn State 41-9, including a 16-1 advantage in shots on goal in the first period.
Straight from the Rink
UW Head Coach Mark Johnson,
On the overall game:
"We played better than we did last week, so that was a message early on. Enjoy the ceremony before the game and then make sure you're ready to go when they drop the puck and yeah we did a really nice job so, a work in progress."
On players from last year returning:
"It's always good to see them. Very rarely do you win a championship in your (something) so for them to be able to go on the ice in their jerseys and have the trophy to share with the crowd, you know, a hockey crowd, it's a big thrill for them to watch the banner go down with the spotlight on it, you know, a lot of memories and reflections on really how special it was and to have those kids that were a big part of it on the ice, you're excited for them because it doesn't happen too often to a lot of players so when it does you go big and put these experiences in front of them and then they go out. The fans were great it was packed for it, a great turn out, and they had a lot of energy so that helped tonight too."
On Maddie Posick's first goal:
"I'm obviously excited for Maddie but what excited me was the reaction of the bench and the players that weren't a part of the team last year. Everybody gets excited when somebody gets their first goal and Maddie is such a great teammate and so it brings a lot of energy to our team."
On the fans:
"It helps, and like I say on a Friday night for them to be full to start the game and see the presentation, they were energetic then and knowledgeable about the way we play."
Up Next:
The Badgers wrap up their series with Penn State on Saturday with a 7 p.m. tilt at LaBahn Arena. Following the weekend series, UW hits the road to take on Ohio State Oct. 11-12.
