News Tribune Wisconsin Win Over UMD Story

College women's hockey: UMD’s win streak snapped
Andy Greder Duluth News Tribune
Published Saturday, February 09, 2008
Being sick is never fun.

But being sick when you’re supposed to be playing your best hockey just makes the illness worse.

With eight Minnesota Duluth players battling the flu, the third-ranked Bulldogs saw their school-record 16-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 defeat to fifth-ranked Wisconsin in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association women’s game Friday at the DECC.

After taking a 1-0 lead, the Badgers (21-6-2 overall, 17-4-2 WCHA) answered both UMD goals with another score.

The Bulldogs (24-4-1, 21-4) tied it at 1 in the second period when freshman Laura Fridfinnson lifted a shot past Wisconsin goalie Jessie Vetter. UMD knotted it again at 2 when sophomore Emmanuelle Blais scored at 4:52 in the third period.

“They had three or four shifts when they really came at us,” Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said. “We just found a way to win.”

Wisconsin increased its winning streak to 11 with Kayla Hagen’s game-winning goal at 10:26 in the third.

UMD outshot the Badgers 29-24, including 14-6 in the third period, but the Bulldogs converted only 1-of-8 power plays.

“I thought we had a lot of good chances, though,” UMD coach Shannon Miller said of the power plays. “That’s the difference right there.”

The Bulldogs got seven of their eight sick players back Friday, with the exception of freshman Iya Gavrilova. Friday’s pregame skate was the first time everyone skated together this week.

“We didn’t have the energy,” Miller said. “They really [were] giving what they have. The energy is low. It’s not because they aren’t excited to play Wisconsin; it’s with that many people getting over the flu or that shouldn’t even be playing.”

The sick ward included Elin Holmlov, Kim Martin, Karine Demeule, Haley Irwin, Heidi Pelttari, Emmanuelle Blais and Libby Guzzo.

“Some of the kids that played tonight probably wish they had a couple more days [of rest],” Miller said.

Demeule, a senior captain, saw positives in the loss.

“After winning 16 games, it boosted our confidence,” Demeule said. “This game against a great team showed we can play hard when we aren’t our best.”

The Bulldogs were stuffed by Vetter and the Badgers, who rank second in the nation with 1.21 goals-against per game.

“Didn’t you see that sheet of Plexiglas we had behind the net?” joked Johnson. “The best penalty killer is the goalie. They had some flurries, but she was up to the task.”

Vetter finished with 27 saves, while Martin had 21 stops for UMD.

The Bulldogs were able to sweep Vetter and the Badgers on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 behind late-game heroics from Gavrilova, who scored two goals in two minutes for the overtime win Dec. 1. Wisconsin beat UMD 4-1 for the 2007 national championship on March 18.

The two teams will play at 7:07 p.m. today to conclude the series.