No. 1 Badgers tame Huskies 3-1

Saturday, January 26

Madison, WI

6 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

23-3-0, 13-3-0-0

St. Cloud State

8-18-2, 3-14-0-0

St. Cloud State

Wisconsin

Freshman Curl sparks comeback to sweep SCSU

Photo by: Tom Lynn

No. 1 Badgers tame Huskies 3-1

January 26, 2019 | Women's Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

Freshman Curl sparks comeback to sweep SCSU

MADISON, Wis. –In its first series of 2019 at LaBahn Arena, the No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team fought back from an early deficit to complete the weekend sweep of the St. Cloud State, 3-1, Saturday night.

Freshman Britta Curl, junior Abby Roque and senior Emily Clark all scored for Wisconsin (23-3-0, 13-3-0-0 WCHA) in UW's series-finale victory in front of a sellout crowd of 2,273

Wisconsin fell behind early in the opening period, but fought back with a three-goal run. Curl opened the scoring for the Badgers with 9:35 left in the first, burying a rocket past Huskies (8-18-2, 3-14-0-0 WCHA) goalie Janine Alder. At the 15:44 mark, Abby Roque cleaned up a loose puck in front of a chaotic Huskies net to give the Badgers the second goal of the game and a lead that would remain in UW hands.

After a quiet middle frame, the Badgers lit the lamp for a third time when Emily Clark quick-tapped the puck while crossing the net for her eighth goal of the season and the final score in Saturday's 3-1 victory.

Play of the Game
Britta Curl's impact was tremendous in Saturday's series finale, knocking in a goal and an assist for UW. Curl's lone goal came at an opportune time, tying the contest at one apiece with 9:35 left in the opening period after the Badgers had fallen behind, 1-0, to start the game. The freshman took the puck the distance of the ice and rocketed a shot past SCSU netminder Janine Alder.

Wisconsin ties it! Britta Curl beats the St. Cloud State goaltender to pull No. 1 @BadgerWHockey even with the Huskies! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/8coElnSh4I
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) January 27, 2019

Three Notes of the Game
•   After the weekend sweep, the Badgers continued their fast start tendencies. UW is out-scoring its opponents 42-12 in the first period.
•   The Badgers outshot the Huskies, 53-13, marking the fourth time this year UW has fired more than 50 shots on goal in a game.
•   The win was the 19th-straight for Wisconsin over St. Cloud State, and the 41st in the last 42 meetings with the Huskies. UW leads the all-time series 78-8-2.

Straight from the Rink
UW Head Coach Mark Johnson
On the performance:
"It was good, had a lot of opportunities to generate a lot of offense. Their goaltender played extremely well, very similar to a game we played up there just before Christmas on a Saturday night. Same young lady played tonight had about 45-50 saves and found a way to win up there. Then again did a good job in the second-third period, take a lot of things they were trying to do away from us and it was a good win."

Freshman forward Britta Curl
On becoming more comfortable on the ice as the season progresses:
"Definitely. Every game I get a little more comfortable. It helps that my line gives me the puck when I have lots of space. I just try to be patient with the puck."

On staying composed after giving up the first goal:
"Anytime they score the first goal right away it's easy to get down but we just try to stick to our game. We knew we would get chances we just had to capitalize. I thought we did really well responding to that."

On playing at home for the first time since the beginning of December:
"It seemed like forever! We were so excited to get out there and the crowd did not disappoint. It was a really fun weekend!"

Up Next
The Badgers travel to Bemidji, Minnesota, for a series against WCHA rival Bemidji State. Puck drop on  Friday Feb. 1 is set for 6 p.m. while action on Saturday, Feb. 2 begins at 2 p.m.