(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON, Wis. – Kirsten Simms notched a goal and an assist and won the shootout for the top-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team in a 2-2 battle with No. 11 St. Cloud State on Sunday afternoon at LaBahn Arena.
Simms and Lacey Eden recorded goals for the Badgers (25-1-2, 19-1-2-0-0-1 WCHA) in regulation. Simms scored in the shootout and netminder Ava McNaughton fended off three shootout attempts to give the Badgers the extra point in WCHA standings and the majority of points in the weekend series against St. Cloud (12-9-5, 7-9-4-1-0-1 WCHA).
St. Cloud State opened the scoring with just under three minutes to play in the first period. The Badgers rallied and Eden responded on the power play.
Just 25 seconds into the player advantage, Simms found Eden wide open in the slot and Eden one-timed it in to send the game into the first intermission level at 1-1. With the goal, alternate captain Eden recorded her 150th career point.
The Badgers took advantage of another power-play opportunity in the second period. Laila Edwards took a shot in close that Huskies’ netminder Emilia Kyrkkö saved but couldn’t handle. Simms pounced on the rebound and smashed it into St. Cloud’s net to give Wisconsin a 2-1 lead it would take into the third period.
St. Cloud State equalized again about halfway through the third frame. Wisconsin outshot St. Cloud State 32-16 in regulation but couldn’t find the go-ahead, sending the game to overtime.
Neither team was able to win the game in overtime and the game went down officially as a tie. McNaughton stopped 17 of the 19 shots she faced through the four frames on Sunday.
The Badgers claimed the extra WCHA point in the shootout as Simms found the back of the net in the second round of the shootout. McNaughton stuffed Husky Emma Gentry’s shootout attempt in the third round to hand Wisconsin the 1-0 shootout win.
Notes of the Game
- With the first Wisconsin goal of the night, Eden recorded her 150th career point. The Annapolis, Maryland, native has recorded 150 points on 71 goals and 79 assists in 124 games in the Cardinal and White.
- Sunday marked the Badgers’ eighth time UW has scored multiple power-play goals in a game.
- The Badgers won their first shootout this season, playing their second overtime game of the season and second shootout of the season.
Straight from the Rink
UW Head Coach Mark Johnson
On the second period:
“The last three minutes of the second period we probably had three really nice looks and [Emilia Kyrkkö] made three really nice saves. You’re trying to thread the needle passes and make the perfect play but instead, you punch the net and you try to make it as simple as you can to create a goal”
On the game:
“When you’re in a physical series, you have to be disciplined, the first 25-30 seconds of the third period we weren’t disciplined and we took a penalty where we didn’t need to. We played fine, they made it hard to score and when teams do that you have to fake and find ways to create opportunities that against maybe another team are easier. There were times in the third period where we had good opportunities and we missed the net.”
Junior forward Kirsten Simms
On the game overall:
“I think overall we still played really well and I think they are a really good defensive team, and I think they really honed in on that today so it was a little bit harder to get the amount of scoring opportunities we had yesterday. We created a lot of chances and did what we could and their goalie also played really well. We were able to get the job done in the shootout.”
On scoring:
“Our team as a whole has been playing really well, so it doesn’t really matter who really puts it in. It’s obviously nice to get one, but it could have been anybody. I got the energy going and I got us up by one, so it could have been anyone, it just happened to be me.”
Junior defender Caroline Harvey
On today’s contest:
“The team we were playing was relentless. They played very physically for, a full 60 minutes. No matter who you’re playing, you have to respect your opponent. They gave us a good game tonight. We were talking in the locker room and that’s what we were expecting. They came with that fire, so it was good to come out on top at the end.”
On overtime:
“Playing three-on-three is very fun, and we practiced it a lot out here. We’ve had two experiences this season, and we’re going to keep working on it. It was good to win in the shootout, but we’re going to keep working on overtime as a team.”
Up Next: The Badgers return to the road to face Minnesota Duluth at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. on Jan. 31 and 3 p.m. on Feb. 1.
