North Dakota left every bit of energy out on the ice, but in the end Wisconsin was just a little better in a 2-1 overtime win.
Sophomore defenseman Emily Morris scored her first goal of the year at 3:47 of overtime to seal the win for Wisconsin (18-2-1, 13-1-1 WCHA) over UND (5-14-2, 1-12-2 WCHA). Morris took a pass across the blue line from senior forward Nikki Burish and wristed a seeing-eye shot toward the net that rose then dropped into the back of the net for the game winner.
The goal was Wisconsin’s only power play goal on eight chances. UND was 1-for-6 on it’s power play.
“It was a nice pass from Burish and I just got lucky I guess,” Morris said of her game-winning goal.
“We had a pretty good view from the bench, and from when it went off her stick you could see it was gonna go in,” said Badger head coach Mark Johnson. “Your first goal of the season, you help your team win, and get two points, it’s that much more exciting.”
UND held on tight throughout the game thanks to key defensive plays and the brilliant goaltending of senior goalie Margaret-Ann Hinkley.
Hinkley made 10 stops on the penalty kill, holding UW to 0-for-7 in regulation on their power play. Hinkley made saves in tight repeatedly on the Badgers and kept them at bay all game long.
“If you’re going to be in hockey games your goaltender has to play well and [Hinkley] did a real nice job tonight,” Johnson said.
“Maggie played great,” said UND coach Shantel Rivard. “She had a lot of key saves and I thought she got better as the game went on.”
The Fighting Sioux defense was to be praised for its effort as well clearing pucks and blocking shots and passes all night.
“We talked about being ferocious in front of our net,” Rivard said. “We definitely blocked more shots than we ever have before and that made it hard for them to get things through.”
Wisconsin was solid defensively also limiting the Sioux to mostly perimeter shots and not many quality chances offensively.
The Badgers opened the scoring at 4:21 when freshman Kayla Hagen put a backhander in for her second goal of the year for the 1-0 lead. Juniors Heidi Kletzien and Kristen Witting assisted on the goal.
The Fighting Sioux tied it up when junior Sarah Connelly sniped her first goal of the season through a puck-sized hole under Wisconsin senior goalie Meghan Horras’ glove arm at 17:25 of the second period.
Horras finished the game with 18 saves, and the win puts her record to
11-1-1 this year. With the loss, Hinkley’s record drops to 2-5-0 on the year. She made 30 saves in defeat.
The two teams meet again Saturday night at 7:05 in Grand Forks.
