Nov. 6, 2009

Box Score | Box Score

MADISON, Wis - In the first of a two-game series, the sixth-ranked Badgers fell 3-1 to Robert Morris Friday afternoon at the Kohl Center.

Wisconsin fell to 5-4-0 overall this season, dropping its first non-conference contest since falling 2-1 to New Hampshire on Nov. 18, 2007. The Colonials improved to 4-5-0 on the season.

The Badgers came out strong outshooting the Colonials 12-7 in the first frame, however, neither team was able to get on the board.

The second period saw more action as Robert Morris took the lead. At the 10:20 mark in the second frame, from behind the goal line, Brianna Delaney sent the puck to Cobina Delaney in the right circle. Cobina passed the puck to the slot where Jennifer Kindret went five-hole to make the score 1-0.

Exactly seven minutes later, at the 17:20 mark, Mallory Giambra sent the puck behind the goal line to Brianna Delaney. Delaney passed the puck to the crease where Kindret tallied her second goal of the game to give the Colonials the 2-0 lead going into the third frame.

The Badgers made their lone appearance on the scoreboard with 12:32 left in the third period. Wisconsin junior Mallory Deluce (London, Onatrio) found sophomore Brooke Ammerman (River Vale, N.J.) behind the goal line. Ammerman passed the puck in the slot to find freshman Saige Pacholok who found the back of the net to record her second goal of the season and make the score 2-1.

Freshman Becca Ruegsegger made 10 saves in the third period to keep the game within reach.

During a Wisconsin power play, the Badgers pulled Ruegsegger with 1:15 left in regulation to try to knot the score at two. However, Robert Morris's Sara O'Malley sent the puck into an empty net to seal the 3-1 victory with 48 seconds left in the contest.

The win marks RMU's second win of the season over a ranked opponent on the road. Their first win was on Oct. 3 when they secured a 4-1 victory over Minnesota Duluth, who was ranked No. 4 at the time.

"We talked about it [the win over Minnesota Duluth] between periods and referenced it," Interim head coach Tracey DeKeyser said. "We talked about how we needed to add pace to the game, great puck movements and just be persistent because we expected a fight, and that's what we got."

Despite the loss, Wisconsin outshot RMU 29-20.

The game saw few penalties with RMU going 0-for-1 on the power play and Wisconsin finishing 0-for-3 on the man advantage.

Ruegsegger finished with 17 saves for the Badgers and Daneca Butterfield finished with 28 saves in net for the Colonials.

Wisconsin faces Robert Morris in game two of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Kohl Center.

Allison Metcalf

Wisconsin Athletic Communications