MADISON, Wis. – The No. 1 Badgers pulled off a last second comeback against No. 4/5 Minnesota Duluth at LaBahn arena this Saturday, netting two goals in the remaining twenty seconds of play to win 4-3.

Cassie Hall played hero, scoring the game-winning goal with just 8.9 seconds on the clock - her second goal of the game. Hall's goal followed a Caroline Harvey game-tying score with just 20.9 seconds remaining.

After entering the period with a 2-1 Badger lead, the Bulldogs struck back. First elevating a wrist shot seven minutes into period three to tie up the game two apiece. UMD then grabbed a lead six minutes later, putting the Badgers in a 3-2 deficit.

Before the third, the Badgers held a tight 2-1 lead thanks to second period scores from Kirsten Simms and Hall. Wisconsin poured on the shots against opposing netminder Ève Gascon, holding a 27-9 advantage in shots on goal after two periods. Duluth held the first lead of the game with a score 17 minutes into the first period.

In total, Wisconsin outshot the Bulldogs 49-17.

It was a physical game throughout, with both teams recording over four penalties. Wisconsin went on the power play six times, coming up empty on the first five. The final penalty, a major on UMD with 2:09 remaining in the game, allowed the Badgers to secure both the game-tying and game-winning goals.

The Badger's penalty-kill warded off four UMD power plays.

Wisconsin now is off to a 3-0-0 start in conference play, and are 1-0-0 against ranked opponents this season.

Note of The Game

• Cassie Hall and Kirsten Simms each scored their fifth goal of the season.

• This is Wisconsin's eighth straight win against Duluth, dating back to Jan. 26, 2024. 

• Wisconsin hasn't lost a game at home in LaBahn Arena in 25 games.

• The Badger's are unbeaten in their last eight games against top-three opponents. The team is 7-0-1 in that stretch.

Straight from the Rink 

UW Head Coach Mark Johnson
On learning from today's game:
"Every game you take lessons from the experience you just went through. At the end, you don't know when things are going to happen, so, when they do happen, can you execute, can you make a play, can you give yourself an opportunity, which we did. Learning opportunity for everybody from all over the game."

On Cassie Hall's growth:
"You certainly want a bunch of people to get off to good starts, and she's a junior now, and she's played a backseat for the players for a couple of years and done really well. You're waiting for that next little step to highlight what she's capable of doing. She's a great skater, good overall player, and does a lot of great things well. For her to get off to a good start, that's going to put her in a position to have some good confidence and go through the rest of the season."

Junior forward Cassie Hall
On her game-winning goal:
"Started with the face-off win, and then KK brought it in. We had another opportunity from Kelly, she got the pass, she made a kick save. I just happened to be standing there, and I kind of just took the puck, turned and shot. It went in."

On being a leader with Olympic camp absences:
"I've definitely been taking on a bigger role this season on this team. With that comes confidence, so I think my confidence has gone up, especially this week being one of those leaders with those girls that are gone. Working hard this week, and keeping my confidence high — justgoing with that."

Up next: The Badgers face Duluth tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for the second game of the series.