DULUTH, Minn.— The top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team saw its eight-game unbeaten streak draw to a close on Friday night after falling to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth, 4-2, at AMSOIL Arena. 

Nicole LaMantia got the game started for the Badgers (11-3-1, 11-3-1-1-1-1 WCHA) with a power-play goal to give UW a 1-0 lead over the Bulldogs (11-5-0, 11-5-0-0-0 WCHA). 

Shortly after, UMD answered with two goals to take a 2-1 lead. 

Brette Pettet then netted the puck off a rebound to tie the game back up at 2-2.

UMD then scored late in the first period to take a 3-2 lead.

The Bulldogs scored a fourth halfway through the second period to increase their lead to two. The score held going into the final frame.

UW battled in the third period, outshooting UMD 19-7, but were unable to beat Minnesota Duluth netminder Emma Soderberg. 


Three Notes of the Game:

• UW saw its 17-game unbeaten streak draw to a close against UMD. The last time UW had lost to the Bulldogs was Nov. 18, 2016. 

• Sophie Shirley extended her point streak to nine games with an assist on Brette Pettet's goal in the second period.

• Daryl Watts scored a point off an assist, marking her 26th of the season. She leads the WCHA in points and is ranked 17th nationally for career points.

Straight from the Rink
Head coach Mark Johnson
On the game:
"It was just a game where the first period we didn't come out and play as well as I thought we were going to be able to play and execute the way we need to on a small ice sheet. As the game went on we got a little bit better. We still have an opportunity tomorrow and we have to come out and play the full 60 minutes and compete at a little bit higher level than we did tonight for that entire game to give ourselves a chance tomorrow afternoon."

On what did not work:
"We didn't create enough opportunities in the second half of the game to really give ourselves a chance so tomorrow afternoon we have to do a better job at getting more pucks to the net, creating some more opportunities and capitalizing."

On the season coming down to the final game"
"It's a good stepping stone into the playoffs. You're playing for something tomorrow where there's a lot on the line and I'm anxious to see how we come out and handle the situation and handle the game. I hope they're excited to come out and understand what could happen if they play well."

Up Next:
Wisconsin will face Minnesota Duluth again tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the final game of the regular season. The game will be streamed on FloHockey. The Badgers need two points to win the WCHA title outright, while one point would lead to a share of the crown with UMD. A Bulldogs win would give UMD the title.