Just 47 seconds was all No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth needed to turn around a weekend series against No. 1 Wisconsin.
After a late collapse on Friday, the Bulldogs trailed 1-0 in the second period Sunday afternoon, but two quick UMD goals at the game’s halfway mark pushed the Bulldogs to a 3-1 victory at the Kohl Center.
“Our first period was horrible today,” Minnesota-Duluth coach Shannon Miller said. “We weren’t awake to play and we were lucky to get out of the first period trailing 1-0. But we had an important chat in the locker room at intermission and we really came to life.”
Minnesota-Duluth’s first tally came nearly 10 minutes into the second period. After forcing a Badgers turnover in the neutral zone, Bulldogs freshman forward Jamie Kenyon walked in alone on a breakaway. The Sparta, Wis. native made no mistake, sniping home a goal off the left post to tie the score.
“I think it’s great that Jamie Kenyon got a breakaway and scored that first goal to really get us going,” Miller said. “I knew she was going to score the moment the puck was on her stick and she had ice in front of her.”
UMD took its first lead of the game 47 seconds later on Jocelyne Larocque’s blast from just inside the blue line. A relentless Bulldogs forecheck got the puck free to senior forward Haley Irwin, who fed sophomore defenseman Jessica Wong. Wong then found the open UMD Bulldogs captain, who let go a slap shot that deflected into the top left corner over Wisconsin freshman goaltender Alex Rigsby.
Minnesota-Duluth finished off the scoring just over four minutes into the third period. After receiving a pass from Pernilla Winberg, Bulldogs sophomore forward Katherine Wilson fired a high shot on net which eluded Rigsby’s glove hand for a 3-1 lead.
“Our first period wasn’t very good,” Winberg said. “We came out stronger in the second and third and worked as a team to score the goals that we needed (to come back).”
UMD’s rally came after Wisconsin dominated play in the early going. The Badgers pressure paid off in the game’s first goal just 39 seconds in.
On the play, Wisconsin junior forward Hilary Knight cut loose to the net on the right side, unleashing a high shot. Bulldogs goaltender Kim Martin made the initial save and another on Knight’s rebound chance, but she couldn’t stop Meghan Duggan’s third opportunity.
“The goal developed off a hard working play by (Brianna Decker), who got the puck to Hilary, who fired it on net,” Duggan said. “I was just there to tap it into an open net off the rebound.”
Wisconsin continued to press throughout the opening 20 minutes, but the Badgers couldn’t beat Martin, who made nine saves in the period.
“I really didn’t think about it too much at the time, but it is always good to keep the score down,” Martin said. “We didn’t play well in the first period, but we played a strong second and third. Now we just need to keep working on playing a complete game.”
The senior netminder picked up her sixth win of the season, making 25 saves.
“I thought Kim was good on Friday, but exceptional today,” Miller said. “She really kept us in when she needed to and gave us hope for our offense. She had a huge impact on the game today.”
The win offered some redemption for Minnesota-Duluth (11-4-0, 9-4-0 WCHA), who lost to Wisconsin 3-2 on Friday after holding a 2-0 lead and a 2-1 lead in the game’s final minute.
Meanwhile, the Badgers (12-3-0, 8-3-0) are left to ponder what could have been after a fast start Sunday.
“The first 15 or 16 minutes were pretty good for us,” Duggan said. “We had a little let down after that, but Duluth came to play today . . . They were all over us and beat us as a team.”
Video: Minnesota-Duluth coach Shannon Miller:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMgz9TVpkBk
Video: Minnesota-Duluth goaltender Kim Martin:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj0L06DuCls
Video: Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zoDv33uqBE
Video: Wisconsin forward Meghan Duggan:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0T6AwE7OSo
