MADISON — Britta Curl’s goal with 10.5 seconds left in regulation tied the game at three for Wisconsin and forced overtime, but Abbey Murphy was the lone goal-scorer in the shootout round to give Minnesota the extra standings point.
“It was a classic right Gopher/Badger game. There were great chances both ways. You know going in that if you just lay off for a second, both teams have players that can put the puck in the net. Both teams are so good, so skilled,” said Minnesota coach Brad Frost.
The Badgers killed a penalty in the opening minutes of the game, but the Gophers maintained much of the early momentum. Midway through the first, Jesse Compher carried the puck in along the far boards and passed it back to Vivian Jungels, who wristed it into the back of the net.
It looked like Wisconsin had doubled their lead three minutes later, but a challenge from Frost saw the goal call overturned for goalie interference. The momentum shifted and Minnesota scored their first goal of the game on a short-handed play by Peyton Hemp. Abbey Murphy took off on a breakaway and her shot deflected off Hemp’s skate into the net.
Early in the second, Laila Edwards put the Badgers up 2-1 on a gorgeous play where she carried the puck around the top of the faceoff circle before releasing a shot from the slot that beat Gopher goalie Skylar Vetter.
Hemp scored her second from a tight angle, squeezing the puck between Wisconsin goalie Cami Kronish and the post. The Gophers took the lead on a puck that bounced off the boards behind Kronish to the back post, where it was tucked in by Grace Zumwinkle.
The Badgers pulled Kronish with 1:44 left in regulation and Compher won two faceoffs in the zone in the final minute to help the Badgers keep up the pressure. After a flurry right in front of Vetter, the puck fell in front of Curl who dove at it to tie the game at 3 and force overtime.
In the extra frame, Taylor Heise took a shot from the left side that rolled up over Kronish’s head and looked destined for the back of the net. A quick-thinking Kronish threw her arm behind her back and caught the puck in her glove. Minnesota had a 2-on-1 breakaway as the overtime period expired. The initial save left the puck sitting right on the goal line, but the run of play took everyone past the net and the puck was cleared away as the buzzer sounded.
Lacey Eden, Kirsten Simms and Nicole LaMantia each failed to score in the shootout for Wisconsin. Grace Zumwinkle and Taylor Heise were also each stopped. Murphy’s short-side chip won the extra point for the Gophers.
“There’s a lot of good that came out today. I think obviously we want all the points, but we try to look at the bright side. I thought we showed some grit at the end of that third period. So we just got to take that away for tomorrow and come with a little bit of fire after losing the shoot out,” Curl said.
Minnesota played forward Emily Oden at defense as Nelli Laitinen was out of the lineup. Vetter made 40 saves while Kronish notched 38.
“I’m very happy with how we played. We talked about how we don’t want huge peaks and valleys. There are going to be ups and downs, but we just don’t want them to be drastic one way or another,” said Frost. “I thought tonight was a perfect example of that. Even though we were down twice, they never panicked and they just kept with it.”
