Badgers Trim Minnesota 4-1 to win Women's WCHA Playoff
March 12, 2006
By John Gilbert
MINNEAPOLIS, MN. --- The University of Wisconsin women's hockey team has been breaking down the tradition that the WCHA is a two-team league, a dominance created over the WCHA's first six seasons by Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth. The Badgers broke one barrier by winning the WCHA regular season title, and on Sunday, they broke through another one - whipping Minnesota 4-1 for the WCHA playoff championship.
"I'm real excited for our players," said Wisconsin's coach-of-the-year Mark Johnson, whose Badgers lost a heartbreaker in the playoff final to Minnesota last year, after rallying for two goals in the final minute to tie the game 2-2. "Last year, we were very close, in a similar situation, but we were beaten in overtime. Any time you have the opportunity to win a championship, you go after it, and any time you do something for the first time, it's special."
There is, of course, one further barricade up ahead. UMD won the first three NCAA women's hockey championships, and Minnesota won the next two. All three teams - and the WCHA has at least become the "big three" by now - will enter the eight-team NCAA tournament starting this coming weekend. Wisconsin (33-4-1) will be at home against Mercyhurst on Saturday, Minnesota will be at home against Princeton on Friday, and UMD will be on the road at St. Lawrence Saturday.
The other NCAA pairing has Harvard at No. 1 ranked New Hampshire, with the four winners convening at Mariucci Arena for the NCAA Women's Frozen Four.
Minnesota had won seven straight coming into the game, and even though the Gophers have now lost four out of five games to the Badgers, Gopher coach Laura Halldorson said she didn't think Wisconsin had a clear upper hand in the game. "Wisconsin has a very good team, and I congratulate them," Halldorson said. "But the score was a little deceiving, because it didn't really feel like a 4-1 game. We outshot them 29-19, so we were really in the game."
The Golden Gophers (27-10-1) had outshot UMD 39-21 while beating the Bulldogs 2-1 Saturday, and they outshot Wisconsin similarly, 21-11, on Sunday, but the Badgers handled the Ridder Arena crowd, announced as 1,012, and the shot-counter with the same poise they used to control the Gophers.
Wisconsin has a prominent offense, led by WCHA player of the year Sara Bauer, and it has a solid defense, led by Bobbi Jo Slusar, the WCHA defensive player of the year, and solid goaltending from senior Meghan Horras. Against the Gophers, the defensemen became offensive, scoring three of the four goals. The Badgers took a 2-1 lead in the first period, and resolutely added another goal in the second, and another in the third.
Cyndy Kenyon's goal at 5:14 of the first period was offset when Minnesota's Allie Sanchez connect at 12:15. The Badgers reclaimed the lead when Slusar slid over to center-point and rifled a slap shot straight on from 55 feet past a screened Kim Hanlon. At that point, all three goals had come on power plays, and while Wisconsin was being outshot 15-5 at that moment, the Badgers led 2-1.
The pace was about even in the second period, although the Badgers killed their two penalties, and went ahead 3-1 when Emily Morris moved in deep from the blue line and smacked in a rebound even though she couldn't see the puck go in because a Minnesota defenseman was pretty well taking her out as she shot.
The Gophers needed a rally in the third period, but the Badgers held them to only five shots, and defenseman Meaghan Mikkelson strode in from the right point and scored from the top of the circle against relief goalie Brittony Chartier, who went in for the second and third periods after Hanlon twisted her ankle trying to prevent Nikki Burish from scoring at the right edge late in the first period.
While the Gophers solidified their home-ice spot in the NCAA with their victory over UMD, the players insisted the semifinal might have been the more important game of the weekend, but it didn't cause any letdown. "It doesn't matter whether you're playing one archrival in UMD or another in Wisconsin, mentally, when you're playing for the championship, you go all out.
"Wisconsin moves the puck real well, and they banged a couple power-play goals in."
Badger coach Johnson was a power-play specialist himself on NCAA championship Badger teams coached by his dad, Badger Bob Johnson, so he knows the importance of a successful power play.
"In the first period, Minnesota had more energy than we did, which didn't surprise me," said Johnson. "They're in their own building, with their own fans, and they won a tough game against UMD. They had some good chances, and Meghan came up with the saves, and we came out of the first period ahead 2-1. At this time of the year, you look for your special teams to be pretty good."
The Badgers were 3-for-6 on the power play, and held Minnesota to 1-for-4. That contributed to a huge haul the Badgers took back to Madison - coach of the year, player of the year, defensive player of the year, and a giant trophy for winning the WCHA playoff title.
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