Eighth-ranked Wisconsin won its fifth consecutive game, limiting Minnesota State-Mankato to a school-record low four shots on goal, in a 4-0 victory at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center on Friday.
The Badgers (12-8-2, 9-5-1 WCHA) opened their second consecutive shutout with a goal at 7:28 of the first period. Steph Millar passed to Sis Paulsen, who sat at the right power-play point. Paulsen skated into the high slot and wristed the puck on goal. The puck cruised over MSU goaltender Katie Beauduy’s left shoulder for the junior’s fourth of the season.
Steph Boeckmann upped the lead to two at 8:09 of the second stanza. Jackie MacMillan left the puck for Carla MacLeod behind the goal. The defender skated it out of the UW zone along the left boards and deep into the MSU end. Her shot was stopped, but Boeckmann was there for the rebound and her fourth of the season.
The Badgers added to their lead at 12:44 of the second period when Kathy Devereaux collected her third goal of the season. Kendra Antony poked the puck away from an MSU defender along the right boards and to Meghan Hunter. Hunter skated behind the net and found Devereaux open in the slot. Devereaux one-timed a shot along the ice and past Beauduy for the 3-0 lead.
Molly Engstrom completed the scoring at 14:31 of the third period with her third of the season. The defender picked up the puck deep in the left corner of the MSU zone and fed Millar along the boards. Engstrom returned to her normal point position and took the return feed from Millar. The defender then wound up, fired a slapper from the blue line and beat Beauduy for the power-play goal.
Wisconsin outshot MSU by a 49-4 margin in the contest. The Badgers held a 20-2 shot advantage in the first period, a 13-1 advantage in the second and a 16-1 edge in the third period. Wisconsin also went 2-for-6 on the power play and killed the two shorthanded situations it faced.
“Going into the third period we knew that we had a chance to set a new record low for shots and that was our goal for the period,” said assistant coach Tracey Cornell. “We started making the defensive adjustments in the second and every line took to it. I was very impressed with our defensive efforts. Not just today, but the past couple of games.”
UW’s Jackie MacMillan made three saves and earned the win in two periods of work. She improved to 12-7-1 on the year. MSU’s Beauduy made 45 saves, but fell to 0-4-0 on the year.
The Badgers look to extend their season-best winning streak Saturday when they face Minnesota State (3-17-1, 0-13-0) again. The game begins at 2:05 p.m. CT at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center.
