DULUTH — The top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers will face #3 Minnesota for the WCHA Tournament Championship on Saturday after both teams registered come-from-behind wins in their respective semifinals Friday afternoon at AmSoil Arena in Duluth.
In the early game, Minnesota Duluth got on the board first. Sophomore Grace Sadura drove up the left side of the ice and dragged Badger defender Katie Kotlowski, giving her open ice in on UW goalie Ava McNaughton, who looked like she made the save before the puck trickled through her pads and into the net.
Wisconsin equalized three minutes later. Laney Potter’s centering pass went in off Kelly Gorbatenko as she crashed the net.
“It bounced off my chest. I was just trying to get to the net and get gritty. That’s how you score this time of year. I was just trying to cause chaos in front and it took a good bounce,” said Gorbatenko.
Defender Caroline Harvey gave Wisconsin the 2-1 lead late in the second when a broken play led to a loose puck in the slot. Harvey charged in from the blue line and one-timed the puck off the corner pipe and into the net.
The Bulldogs put the pressure on Wisconsin in the final frame, pushing the Badgers out of sync, but were unable to find the back of the net in the chaos. In a stellar defensive game in which UMD blocked 23 shots and goalie Eve Gascon made 39 saves, the Bulldogs could not capitalize on the chaos they created in the final frame.
“We had a ton of momentum in that third period and some really good looks, but I think we have to continue to have a shot mentality. Any time you face good goalies, you have to just continue to pummel them with pucks, because you know something eventually is gonna go in. I thought we started to do a really good job with that towards the end of the game, so we just have to have that mentality from the get go,” said Minnesota Duluth coach Laura Schuler.
Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson knows his team was lucky not to give up a goal in the final frame, citing sloppy passes and unforced errors. But he always knows that his team learns more from games where they survive adversity.
In the third period where they started to push us, we weren’t managing the puck well. We were playing on our heels. They were playing on their toes,” said Johnson.
“If it’s perfect, you might not get better. If there are bumps in the road, maybe you end up learning from those and you get better the next time that situation presents itself.”
Schuler unknowingly echoed his sentiments, saying her team learns and grows every time they play.
“Even though we didn’t win, I still think we took another step, which is going to prepare us for this next part,” she said.
Wisconsin secured the win with an insurance goal from rookie defender Emma Venusio, the first of her career. Harvey assisted on the goal, scoring her 131st career point, which set a new Badgers school record for most points by a defender.
“It doesn’t change anything. I credit that all to my teammates I couldn’t do it without them.
It’s not something I care about at all. All we’re focused on is bringing that trophy back to Madison,” said Harvey.
Both teams will advance to the NCAA Tournament based on their placement in the Pairwise Rankings, but Minnesota Duluth will have to go on the round and play in the regional semifinal round because of today’s loss.
Bulldog captain Nina Jobst-Smith knows her team is ready.
“We have everything we need in our locker room. We have all the experience, we have all the depth and we’re a close knit team that knows what it takes to win championships and knows how hard we have to work, and we’ve done that. We’ve put in the work all season long, and I think we’re geared up and ready to go for the next two weeks. It’s only four wins away for national championship, and I think that’s our mindset.”
