When it rains it pours, as the defending national champions, the Wisconsin Badgers (3-0-0, 1-0-0 WCHA), handed St. Cloud State (1-1-1, 0-1-0 WCHA) its first loss of the season with a 8-2 victory on Friday at the Kohl Center.
In the Western Collegiate Hockey Association season debut for both teams, Wisconsin jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 2:17 mark of the first period with a power-play goal from junior forward Jinelle Zaugg following an SCSU penalty from senior captain Hailey Clarkson at the 00:30 mark. Sara Bauer, the 2006 Patty Kazmaier award winner, and senior defender Meaghan Mikkelson tallied assists on the goal. UW went on to extend its lead to 2-0 after a shorthanded goal from Zaugg at 5:15 in the period.
The Huskies battled back to cut the Badger lead to 2-1 with a rebound goal at 13:31 from junior assistant captain Laura Fast. Senior captain Denelle Maguet fired off the initial shot and was awarded the assist on Fast’s first goal of the season.
Before the first intermission, the Badgers went on to score two unanswered goals in the first period and extend their lead to 4-1 after 20 minutes of play. UW’s first-year forward Meghan Duggan tallied the third goal of the game for the Badgers at 14:04 and first-year forward Jasmine Giles notched the fourth goal at 15:34.
The momentum continued in UW’s favor as the Badgers went on to score three goals in the second period. Scoring the fifth goal of the game for UW was Zaugg, who accomplished the hat trick at 5:48. Bauer pushed the lead to 6-1 at the 10:30 mark of the second with her first power-play goal of the season, and senior forward Phoebe Monteleone tallied her first goal of the season at 15:09.
SCSU’s first year forward Katie Kemmerer connected for her second goal of the season at the 5:00 minute mark of the third period to cut the Badger lead to 7-2. Kemmerer’s tip in goal was assisted by junior defender Stacy Dey.
Before the final buzzer, UW’s Bauer scored a shorthanded goal at 18:49, which marked her second goal of the game. Bauer also recorded three assists on the night.
Senior assistant captain Lauri St. Jacques and junior Kendall Newell shared responsibilities in goal for the Huskies. In 35:02 minutes played, St. Jacques charted 20 saves and seven goals against. After holding the Badgers scoreless in the third until the 18:49 mark, Newell completed the game with 10 saves in 24:43 minutes of play.
Wisconsin’s sophomore goaltender Jessie Vetter finished the game with 17 saves in 60:00 minutes of play between the pipes.
The Badgers now lead the overall series with the Huskies, which began in 1999, 27-4-0.
Led by first year head coach Jeff Giesen, the Huskies (1-1-1, 0-1-0 WCHA) will complete the two-game series against the Badgers on Saturday. The initial face-off is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. in the Kohl Center.
