DULUTH — Sixth-ranked Minnesota Duluth missed out on an upset of No. 1 Wisconsin for the second day in a row, falling 2-1 to the WCHA-leading Badgers on Saturday at Amsoil Arena less than 24 hours after losing 2-1 in overtime.
Fifth-year senior wing Olivia Mobley gave UMD a 1-0 lead in the first period. That advantage stood until the third period when Wisconsin got goals from junior wing Laila Edwards and the game-winner by senior wing Sarah Wozniewicz with 8:16 left in regulation.
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Bulldogs sophomore goaltender Eve Gascon made 46 saves as her team was outshot 33-12 over the final two periods.
Wisconsin sophomore goalie Ava McNaughton stopped 26 shots, including 14 of 15 in the first period.
“She played aggressive,” Mobley said of McNaughton. “She had a good game both nights, so I got to tip my cap to her. Good goaltending on both sides, low-scoring games. Eve came up huge for us.”
Highlights
Saturday was the Bulldogs' sixth-straight loss, having now been swept on three consecutive weekends by Ohio State, St. Thomas and Wisconsin. UMD has lost four straight at home to the Buckeyes and Badgers, including the last three by 2-1 margins. The 3-1 loss on Jan. 17 was 2-1 until an OSU empty-netter.
“This is tough, but this weekend we grew a lot as a team,” Mobley said. “A lot to learn. If we don’t win, we learn. Building on our habits, building on our keys to success and take that moving forward. Yeah, it blows, but in the same breath we learned a lot. Turn the page and keep moving forward.”
The Bulldogs led the Badgers 1-0 for the second game in a row. Sophomore wing Grace Sadura scored the first goal in the opening period of Friday’s game, but that 1-0 lead held for less than six minutes.
Mobley scored off a rebound late in the first period Saturday and UMD was able to take the lead into the first and second intermissions.
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“I feel like our team’s belief keeps growing.” UMD coach Laura Schuler said. “I feel like we have something special. We’re just going to keep looking at video and see how we can keep getting better because that’s what this team does. I’m so proud of them and we’re going to keep doing it, because we’re going for that natty (national championship).”
UMD missed on at least four golden chances to extend its lead. Mobley and fellow fifth-year senior Olivia Wallin failed to finish on breakaways while senior center Jenna Lawry and freshman center Caitlin Kraemer both caught iron. Wallin and Lawry’s scoring chances both came early in the third period, shortly before Edwards tied the game at 1-1.
Wallin’s was the only scoring chance McNaughton had to make a save on, getting her right pad on a backhander.
“Wow, did Olivia Wallin make a nice move, she just needed to lift it a little bit more, but their goalie made a tremendous save,” Schuler said. “There was a lot of opportunities for us to make it a different outcome, but we’re right there.”
Fifth-year senior defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith has 50 career assists. She’s only the ninth Bulldog to ever hit the milestone. It was her shot that created the rebound for Mobley in the first period. Jobst-Smith has 13 goals and 63 points in 163 career games at UMD.
Power plays were well in favor of the Badgers, as UMD was called for three penalties and Wisconsin was called for no penalties.
The WCHA officiating crew did review a Badgers hit for a major penalty in the second period, but ruled it wasn’t worthy of a major. Video did show it was a clear minor penalty for body checking — UMD was called for that twice Saturday — but officials can’t call a minor penalty via video review if no penalty was initially called. And the hit went uncalled.
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The Badgers, whose power play is ranked No. 1 in the nation, were 0-for-3 on the power play Saturday and 0-for-4 on the weekend.
“We tweaked our penalty kill a little bit,” Schuler said. “They have the No. 1 power play in the nation at around 40%. To be able to shut that down was awesome.”
Up next
The Bulldogs hit the road for two of the final three weekends of the regular season, starting with a trip to Bemidji State next week on Feb. 7-8.
Box score
Wisconsin 0-0-2—2
Minnesota Duluth 1-0-0—1
First period
1. UMD, Olivia Mobley (Nina Jobst-Smith, Mary Kate O’Brien), 17:30
Second period
No scoring
Third period
2. UW, Laila Edwards (Lacey Eden, Caroline Harvey), 6:14
3. UW, Sarah Wozniewicz (Laney Potter, Ava Murphy), 11:44
Saves — Ava McNaughton, UW, 26; Eve Gascon, UMD, 46.
Power play — UW 0-3; UMD 0-0. Penalties — UW 0-0; UMD 3-6.
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