March 24, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. - Wisconsin won the Women's WCHA season and playoff title with a veteran team, but once the Badgers moved into the NCAA tournament, it's been all freshmen. Tia Hanson, a freshman winger on Wisconsin's third line, scored a neat unassisted goal at 5:22 of the third period Friday, and Jessie Vetter, another freshman, made it stand up by stopping all 27 St. Lawrence shots, giving the Badgers a 1-0 victory over the Saints in the first semifinal of the Women's NCAA Frozen Four at Mariucci Arena.

The victory puts Wisconsin into Sunday's 3 p.m. championship game against the winner of the second semifinal, between Minnesota and New Hampshire.

For Wisconsin, it was the second game in a row the same two freshmen had stepped squarely into the spotlight. Last weekend, Hanson scored in the second overtime to lift the Badgers to a 2-1 victory in the NCAA quarterfinals against Mercyhurst, in Madison, while Vetter also played a strong game in goal.

"After scoring the goal in double overtime," I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to score another goal as big," said Hanson, who is from Medicine Hat, Alberta. "Then I get another chance in the Frozen Four."

The goal came after the two teams locked up in a tight, tense defensive standoff, with scoring chances far fewer than the shots might indicate. Early in the third period, when it appeared any goal would be precious, suddenly Hanson scooped up the puck on the left side, made a neat move to filter past a defending St. Lawrence player, and drilled a snap shot high far side, into the upper right corner.

"I remember getting a pass off the boards, and got around one player," said Hanson, whose goal was her 10^th of the season. "All I meant to do was get it on net, and it went into the top corner."

St. Lawrence goaltender Jessica Moffat said she saw the puck clearly, and saw the play developing. "I knew from the get-go it would take a goal like that," said Moffat. "I did what I could do, and she just made a good shot, up high."

The Saints, making their third trip to the Frozen Four in the last four years, outshot Wisconsin 27-25, gaining a 14-8 edge in the first period, thanks to three straight power plays. Vetter, coach Mark Johnson's choice over senior Meghan Horras, said it didn't seem that busy.

"They got a lot of shots but they were from far out," said Vetter. "Our team played very well defensively, and my D did a good job clearing the rebounds."

The Badgers were at their best killing penalties against St. Lawrence, which had the second-best power play statistics in the country coming in. After killing the only three penalties of the first period, the Badgers also had to kill a fourth straight in the second period. Then Wisconsin got two power-play chances, but other than a few scrambles at the net at both ends of the big rink, quality chances were scarce.

Both teams were primed for such a game, because while Wisconsin needed two overtimes to get past Mercyhurst 2-1, St. Lawrence beat Minnesota-Duluth 1-0 in its quarterfinal.

"We won the same kind of a game 1-0 last weekend," said St. Lawrence coach Paul Flanagan. "Great game to win, tough game to lose. I have to give congrats to Wisconsin, they played a real good game and didn't give us a lot of great chances. We had some chances on the power plays early, and when you don't score on those, sometimes it comes back to haunt you."

St. Lawrence captain Tracy Muzerall had never watched a game here, but her sister, Nadine Muzerall, who is eight years older, was the first superstar when Minnesota started playing varsity hockey. Nadine Muzerall set the first scoring records for the Gophers and was voted All-America, while Tracy was a youngster growing up in Mississauga, Ontario.

Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said his decision to play Vetter was a tough one, because both his goaltenders have been solid - Horras is 16-2-1 with a 1.54 goals-against average, and Vetter had a 9-1 record with an 0.93 GAA. She improved to 10-1, and lowered the GAA.

"It was a decision that wasn't made overnight," said Johnson. "Meghan Horras has done a wonderful job for four years, and I thought about it. Jessie had don a good job against St. Cloud up here in a pressure game, and did the same against Mercyhurst too. So I just went with a hunch.

"We have a lot of confidence in these young ladies, and they're not like freshmen any more. Our other freshmen have done a great job all season, and they certainly have made contributions. It's nice to relax for a couple of minutes, because our last two games were pretty intense. It's great to see the commitment, but also the passion these players have."

Johnson singled out senior Nikki Burish for being willing to block shots, and in the third period, after Hanson had scored, Hanson also dived to sweep-check the puck out of the Wisconsin zone an instant before a Saints skater would have gained possession.

"Nikki has been blocking shots for four years, and it's great to see from the bench that the kids want to win so badly they'll dive to clear the zone," Johnson said. "When you have young freshmen to graduating seniors all doing it, it's a compliment to the players."

Hanson, who had one game-winning goal during the regular season, now has three, and reached double figures for goals. Vetter simply enjoyed the seemingly tense pressure.

"I just love these live-and-die games," Vetter said.

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