Women’s Division I College Hockey: Badgers upset Gophers to advance to title game

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DULUTH — Two long-time rivals treated fans to a fast-paced, heart-pounding national semifinal Friday evening as Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 3-2 in overtime.

While the Badgers have defeated the Gophers twice in the National Championship game, this was the first Wisconsin had beaten their Border Battle rivals in the semifinal round in four attempts.

Minnesota came out strong to begin the game and Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said he was not happy with how his team started the game. The Gophers capitalized when Taylor Heise scored less than four minutes in.

“I don’t know if it was nerves or being a little shocked by the goal a few minutes into the game, but it put us on our heels. At the second media timeout, it was just to get back the little things, we’ve got to move our feet and get the puck back in the offensive zone to try and create some opportunities. Even in between the first and second period, I told the team that we have to play at the level we are capable of playing at. We got a little bit of momentum in between periods and then came in the second period and played quite well,” Johnson said.

The Badgers outshot Minnesota 17-7 in the second frame, but they could not find an equalizer. They didn’t let that get in their heads, said Harvey, who seemed determined to get the puck in play and make something happen – she had 14 shots on goal in the game, double the next highest shot total on either team.

“Our team knew we were due to score. We kept pressing on them and we were so close for so long, so it was about time we were going to put one in the net,” she said.

The Gophers were 36-30 on the faceoff, but the Badgers won a crucial one early in the third when Jesse Compher pulled the pack back just enough for Laila Edwards to skate through the circle and pick up. She cut straight to the front of the net and used her long reach to push the puck out and tuck it around the goalie for Wisconsin’s first goal

Less than a minute later, Maddie Wheeler grabbed the puck as it rung around behind her net and took off towards the Gopher net with Sophie Shirley skating with her. Shirley slotted home the pass to give the Badgers their first lead.

Goals have been difficult to come by for Shirley, who lit the lamp for just the second time in the second half of the season.

From there, it was a back and forth game of inches as each team had premium chances to end the game and the goalkeepers played spectacularly, stopping a number of point-blank opportunities.

Wisconsin’s power play was crucial in keeping the game close in the second and third periods. They completely blanked the Gophers, who have the second-best power play in the country, and held them to three shots over the three power plays.

It looked like Wisconsin might be able to hold on to their lead as time ticked down and Minnesota wasn’t able to get Vetter to the bench for an extra attacker until 93 seconds remained.

But the Gophers quickly took advantage as Madeline Wethington’s shot from distance deflected into the net through some traffic to tie the game and force overtime.

In the extra frame, the teams traded chances as the goalies kept coming up big and shots missed just wide on a number of occasions until Harvey ended the game with a shot over Vetter’s shoulder to send the Badgers to the title game.

“I’ve shot that same spot on her before. I know she’s sliding across because the puck was coming from the other side. I tried to pick the glove side because I know she’s sliding and I think she was crouching a little bit, so I was trying to go high,” said Harvey.

Minnesota was the #2 seed in the tournament and eliminated Wisconsin from the WCHA tournament two weekends prior. Wisconsin was seeded sixth and needed wins over LIU and #3 Colgate to make the Frozen Four.

Wisconsin will face Ohio State for the fifth time this season on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT in the National Championship game. The match will air live on ESPNU.

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