Women's Hockey Blanks Connecticut, 6-0
October 19, 2002 | Women's Hockey
Junior forward Steph Millar (Hudson, Wis.) provided all the offense Wisconsin needed, while senior goaltender Jackie MacMillan (Buffalo, Minn.) provided the defense in a 6-0 shutout over Connecticut at UConn Ice Arena on Saturday.
Millar, who finished with two goals and an assist, tallied the first of the game and her first of the season at 9:28 of the first period. With the Badgers on the power play, Kerry Weiland (Palmer, Alaska) took the puck from Meghan Hunter (Oil Springs, Ontario) along the right boards. Weiland drove to the net and had her first shot attempt stopped by UConn goalie Kaitlyn Shain. Millar was there for the rebound for the 1-0 lead.
Cole made it 2-0 at 16:14, finishing a give-and-go with Kathryn Greaves (Mentor, Ohio). After Greaves took the original pass from Cole, she drew the UConn goaltender and defense to the left side, before returning the puck back to the frosh for the easy score.
Wisconsin added to the lead at 19:01, when Millar scored for the second time in the contest. The junior found the rebound of a Hunter shot from the slot. Kendra Antony (Yorkton, Saskatchewan) started the play with a pass that sent Hunter into the Husky zone. The All-American beat one defender before firing.
A scoreless second stanza gave way to another three-goal period for Wisconsin. Antony started the scoring at 8:29 with her second of the season. Millar and Hunter both added their third points of the contest with assists on the score.
Nicole Uliasz (Chalfont, Pa.) added to the lead and made it a 5-0 game at 10:02. Nikki Burish's (Madison, Wis.) pass out from behind the goal line was tipped by Cole before finding its way to Uliasz at the point. The sophomore's wrist shot sailed over the right shoulder of Shain for the defender's second goal of the year.
The Huskies replaced Shain with Shannon Murphy during a timeout following the Uliasz score.
Just under four minutes after the switch, Michelle Sikich (Apple Valley, Minn.) beat UConn's new netminder with her first of the season to close out the game's scoring. Sis Paulsen (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Steph Boeckmann (St. Cloud, Minn.) were credited with assists following a scramble in front of the net.
'Overall it was a real solid performance,' said head coach Mark Johnson. 'During the second period our level of play went down a little bit, but we got it back in the third period. We played well in the third period and were rewarded with some goals.'
MacMillan made 20 saves for her first shutout of the season and improved to a perfect 3-0-0. Shain made 24 stops and allowed five goals before the Huskies made a change in goal. The frosh absorbed the loss. Murphy made five saves on six shots in relief.
'It was a real good, balanced effort by everybody, and you are always happy for your goaltender when you get a shutout,' Johnson concluded.
Wisconsin (3-0-0) completes its weekend series on Sunday with the Huskies (0-3-0). The game begins at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
