BEMIDJI, Minn. – The top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team dropped its first game of 2020 Saturday with a 3-2 setback against Bemidji State at the Sanford Center.
Sophomore
Sophie Shirley and junior
Caitlin Schneider each scored goals for the Badgers (21-2-1, 11-2-1-0 WCHA), but it was not enough to best the Beavers (12-11-1, 7-7-0-0 WCHA).
The first period was one to forget for the Badgers, as BSU built a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from junior Clair DeGeorge and senior Abby Halluska.
Wisconsin tied the game at 2-2 midway through the second period scoring two goals in a spectacular 62-second span.
Shirley scored her second of the weekend and her 21st of the season on a power play with 13:44 left in the second off a pass by linemate junior
Daryl Watts.
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With a down ice two-on-one seconds later, Schneider beat BSU goaltender Lauren Bench with a clean snipe from senior
Presley Norby's pass to tie things up at 2-2.
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The even scoreboard lasted didn't last long, as DeGeorge beat UW netminder
Kristen Campbell to give the Beavers a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.
Wisconsin dominated play in the final frame outshooting BSU 17-3 but were unable to tie the game.
Three Notes of the Game:
- With her helper on Sophie Shirley's goal, Daryl Watts now has 100 career assists between her two years at Boston College and her season at Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin went 1-2 on the power play as UW leads the country in power play percentage with a .370 clip.
- Saturday marked the 23rd time this season UW has outshot its opponent.
Straight from the Rink:
UW head coach Mark Johnson
On the game:
"The last two periods were real good. We gave ourselves a chance in the second period being down 2-0. We made a game of it. We couldn't find a way in the third period to tie the game. We made a couple mistakes off face-offs in the first period which cost us a couple goals. The effort in the last 40 minutes was good, it just wasn't enough to capitalize and tie the game up.
On the weekend series:
"It was a good learning opportunity. It's a 60 minute game, you have to be ready. Little things at the start of the year can make a big difference. We didn't do a couple things in the first period, got ourselves behind. We can sit back next week, see where we're at, try to get healthy, get everyone feeling better and get ready for Minnesota in a couple weekends."
Up Next:
After a weekend free of games, the Badgers will return home to LaBahn Arena to take on Border Battle rival Minnesota Jan 25-26. Puck drop Friday, Jan. 25 is at 7 p.m. while the series finale Saturday, Jan. 26 begins at 3 p.m. Both games are sold out.
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