Playing in its fifth-straight game against a top-five nationally ranked team, the No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey saw its two-game unbeaten streak snapped Saturday afternoon by the No. 2 University of Wisconsin at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wis. by a score of 3-0.
The Bulldogs, who also came into the contest with a two-game winning streak in Madison and having taken three out of the last four games against UW in LaBahn, played a tight back and forth opening period with the Badgers, putting 10 shots on goal to Wisconsin's 12.
But the Badgers outshot UMD 19-7 in the second and broke through on rookie goaltender Ève Gascon at 4:22 of the second frame. Wisconsin doubled that lead with just 45 seconds left in the period, and the Badgers held a 2-0 advantage after 40 minutes of play.
Wisconsin unloaded 20 shots on the Bulldogs in the third period, and despite 19 saves in the frame from Gascon, the Badgers added a final goal late, making it a 3-0 game at the 16:28 mark.
In all, Gascon made a collegiate career-high 48 saves – the most by a Bulldog netminder since Maddie Rooney stopped 59 in UMD's marathon Western Collegiate Hockey Association Quarterfinal game against Bemidji State University back on Feb. 29, 2020. It marks the second time Gascon has had a 40 or more save game in her short career – Gascon's previous best was 40 stops against Ohio State University back on Oct. 14.
"I think the lesson is, you know, you can't just come out flying in one period and expect to beat a a great team like Wisconsin, especially in their home barn," said UMD head coach Maura Crowell. "They got better and better and we we didn't. It was a disappointing third period, but I thought Ève (Gascon) was fantastic. Our goaltending remains outstanding, and we need to get some run support for these guys because they're giving us everything they've got."
Jane Gervais posted the shutout for Wisconsin, which improves to 13-2-0 overall and 9-2-0 in WCHA play.
The Bulldogs (9-5-1, 6-5-0) will take a second crack at the Badgers tomorrow afternoon in LaBahn. Puck-drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
