Badgers Tie No. 1 Bulldogs
October 26, 2002 | Women's Hockey
A pair of first-year players scored goals for the No. 5 Wisconsin women's hockey team and helped the Badgers to a 3-3 tie against No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth at the Kohl Center, Saturday.
The Badgers took a first-period lead for the second-straight game when frosh forward Sharon Cole (Bloomington, Minn.) scored her third of the season. Junior Meghan Hunter (Oil Springs, Ontario) intercepted a UMD clearing attempt at the blue line and skated deep into the Bulldog zone to the right of goaltender Patricia Sautter. The forward centered to Cole, who tipped it past Sautter. The goal came just 2:38 into the contest.
The game remained 1-0 as the second period began, but the Bulldogs took just 32 seconds of the second period to even the contest. Caroline Ouellette beat UW goaltender Jackie MacMillan (Buffalo, Minn.) with a one-timer after Maria Rooth's tip of Erika Holst's centering pass made it through traffic in front.
Holst put UMD ahead at 5:44 of the second, following up teammate Satu Kiipeli's blocked shot, but Nicole Uliasz (Chalfont, Pa.) knocked the puck loose from a Bulldog forward along the boards deep in the UW defensive zone, and started the Badgers' second score at 11:05. Frosh Nikki Burish (Madison, Wis.) picked up the puck, skated along the left boards and powered through one UMD defender at the Bulldog blue line. Burish then drove to the net and found Sautter's five hole for the equalizer.
'I was very happy with the commitment and effort that they put in for the whole 60 minutes,' head coach Mark Johnson said. 'I thought last night, 40 minutes were very good, but we just made some mistakes. Tonight we were in a very similar situation, 2-2 going into the third, and I made sure I didn't tell the team last night after two periods because it didn't work.'
Tonight, it was the Badgers who got the early third period lead. At 2:53 of the third period, sophomore Karen Rickard (Bowmanville, Ontario) took a cross down low and found room past Sautter for her second of the season and a Badger 3-2 lead. Hunter and Michelle Sikich (Apple Valley, Minn.) set up the goal.
The Bulldogs made it a tie game for the third time when Holst scored her second of the contest when a pass deflected of a UW defender's skate in the slot. Holst had help from Jenny Potter and Ouellette on the 12:29 score.
That would be all the scoring the rest of the third period and in the overtime. The Bulldogs took three shots in the extra period and the Badgers managed one, but neither team could find the net.
'They played hard,' commented Johnson. 'That point is going to come back later in the season and help us out. That was the best way to gain confidence - throw everything on the line and come away with something. You're not going to hold that team down. They have too many good players. They are going to get their chances, but Jackie played very well in the third period and overtime.'
Minnesota-Duluth held a 29-18 edge in shots and went scoreless on four power plays. The Badger went scoreless on six power plays. Neither team scored a special-teams goal in the series.
In the game, MacMillan stopped 26 shots and now stands 4-1-1 this season. Sautter made 15 saves, earning the tie and now stands 5-0-1.
The Badgers (4-1-1, 0-1-1 WCHA) continues its dangerous early-season schedule next weekend when they travel to Minneapolis for a series with Minnesota (6-0-0, 4-0-0). The teams skate Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1 and 2, at Ridder Arena.
