Badgers advance to another Frozen Four
MADISON – St. Lawrence coach Chris Wells closed his post-game news conference Saturday with a statement so many Wisconsin opponents found true this season.
“You can only hold them off for so long.”
The UW women's hockey team leads the nation in scoring, firepower that eventually allowed it to break open its NCAA regional final and score a 4-0 victory over St. Lawrence in front of a crowd of 2,419 at LaBahn Arena.
The defending national champion Badgers scored three times during the final 20 minutes to advance to the Frozen Four for the third time in four seasons. It is Wisconsin's 15th trip to the overall. The win, meanwhile, was the 700th in program history.
Wisconsin (34-5) will face Colgate in a national semifinal Friday at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire at 6:30 p.m. Clarkson and Ohio State will meet in the other semifinal.
“They earned it,” Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said. “They put themselves in position to host this game. We had a great turnout from our fans as we have all season. The nice thing is we have one more game. I think that is the most exciting part of today's victory. The season goes on.”
Senior Casey O'Brien's goal 16 seconds into the game proved to be the winner, but it was junior Sarah Wozniewicz's score at the 4-minute 24-second mark of the final period that opened the floodgates.
Wisconsin pushed three goals across during the final 20 minutes and had another wiped off the scoreboard due to goaltender interference.
Sophomore Laila Edwards put away UW's final goals, her 19th and 20th of the season, to cap a contest that was much closer than the final indicates.
"It was a perfect game for us," said Wells, whose team finished 28-11. "We pretty much said it was 45 to 25, 23 shots on net (goalie), Emma (Nordstrom) is going to make some big stops and we're going to get some great chances and that is exactly how the game played out and we just missed the net on some, hit the post. If we were to come out on top that was exactly how the game needed to go. I couldn't have been prouder."
Edwards finished with two goals, one assist and a team-high seven shots for the Badgers. O'Brien had one goal, one assist and six shots. Sophomore Kirsten Simms (three assists) and freshman Laney Potter (two assists) also had multi-point games for UW.
After an evenly played first period, Wisconsin outshot St. Lawrence, 21-7, in the second period, but it wasn't until Wozniewicz's goal that the Badgers gained much-needed breathing room.
That goal led to two more over the next 6 1⁄ minutes, both by Edwards.
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“I think in the first and second period we struggled a little bit with getting in front of the goalie," O'Brien said. "I think we got the puck to the net, but we didn't have anyone there for the dirty goals, so I think it was a matter of time before we started clicking and producing.
“I think Woz's goal gave us the jump that we needed to get a few more.”
On the other end of the ice freshman Ava McNaughton performed like a veteran. She recorded 25 saves on the way to posting her fifth shutout of the season.
“It was nice to score early, but they put so much pressure on her in the first and the second, too,” O'Brien said. “Without her sitting on her head, we might not be victorious like we were."
The Saints' game plan was to combat Wisconsin's skill with physical play. It worked but only for a while. Wozniewicz tipped in freshman's Laney Potter's shot early in the third period, provide the Badgers all the spark they would need. Next stop New Hampshire.
“We didn't take the moment for granted. We didn't take this opponent lightly,” Edwards said. “We came in with a mindset that we're trying to continue a legacy here, make another Frozen Four, get another national championship. I thought we did a great job of doing the little things that leads to championships. We executed and we were rewarded.”