Junior Sydney Scobee made 37 saves to match her jersey number to back Minnesota to a 3-1 win over No. 1 Wisconsin in front of an announced sellout of 3,400 fans.
“Huge three points — really wanted that one,” Scobee said. “Every time we face them, it’s always a battle. They’re a really fun opponent to play against.”
She got offensive support in the form of a first-period goal from Sophie Skarzynski and an assist and a pair of tallies from Nicole Schammel, whose 33 points lead Minnesota (22-3-1, 12-3-1-0 WCHA).
“[Schammel] has the ability to finish, and that line has been very consistent for us,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said.
The Badgers (21-3-0, 11-3-0-0 WCHA) were the team that got to enjoy a lead most of the way on Friday, but thanks to Skarzynski’s shot through a maze of players and into the net, they had to chase Minnesota from behind on Saturday.
“These games are so tight that a break here or a break there ends up being the difference,” Frost said. “That was big to get the first one there in the first period.”
The hosts caught another break on Schammel’s goal with 12:38 gone in the middle stanza.
“I’ve never seen one go off of the goalie’s forehead, 10 feet into the air, and in, but we’ll certainly take that one as well,” Frost said.
The 2-0 lead lasted just 21 seconds before freshman Sophie Shirley answered for Wisconsin.
“We just wanted to get pucks to the net, and that’s kind of what I was trying to do,” Shirley said. “I was able to get my own rebound, so pretty nice.”
Even with a 38-25 advantage in shots on goal, her marker was it for the Badgers’ offense.
“It’s just a little puck bounce here and there is the difference in these kind of games,” Shirley said.
Scobee was a big reason why the bounces were ultimately in Minnesota’s favor.
“I was definitely seeing the puck really well,” Scobee said. “I had good communication with my teammates. They always had my back in case there was a rebound, so that gives you a lot of confidence as a goaltender.”
Despite the shot differential, her team wasn’t pinned in its own end for long stretches as was the case the day before.
“We did a much better job of being aggressive on those loose pucks tonight,” Frost said.
The Gophers were able to breathe a little easier after Schammel picked the top corner on Kristen Campbell’s blocker side at 6:08 of the third period for a 3-1 lead.
“I was lucky enough to score a couple of goals, but my linemates did a really good job of getting me the puck, and overall, our team just played really hard,” Schammel said.
Wisconsin returns home to face St. Cloud State on Friday.
“I think we’re going to take this loss and move forward this week in practice and get going again next weekend,” Shirley said.
Minnesota next travels to Columbus to face Ohio State.
“We’re playing another top-10 team,” Frost said. “If we were going lose, it’s not going to be because of a letdown. We just have to play our game.”
