MINNEAPOLIS — Breanne Wilson-Bennett’s hat trick, capped by a power-play goal in the second overtime period, led the Colgate Raiders to a 4-3 win over Wisconsin on Friday in the Frozen Four semifinals.
It will be the first appearance for the Raiders in the NCAA title game and the first time there is not a WCHA team in the final, as Colgate will face ECAC rival Clarkson.
The final goal came as a power play was expiring and Colgate coach Greg Fargo admitted that his team had been struggling before that, saying he told his assistant that at least with the extra attacker, the Raiders could get the puck up the ice.
“I just shot the puck and there was good traffic in front of the net and it happened to squeak in,” said Wilson-Bennett of her game-winner.
She has been particularly good for the Raiders in the closing weeks of the season. Saturday’s four-point performance gave her 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists in the last 15 games.
“If you know Bre, she’s a warrior. I could have written this book halfway through her career that as a senior she’s going to be on fire. She will do anything that it takes to win. This doesn’t come as a surprise whatsoever. It’s who she is. It’s who she always been,” said Fargo.
Wilson-Bennett is one of seven seniors on the Raiders roster that won just seven games their freshman year. But Fargo said he knew early on that this leadership group was special.
“We brought them in and you could see that things were changing with them. It didn’t result in wins, but it was them doing all of the right things day in and day out and not wavering from that,” he said.
Fargo’s commitment to the team and to turning the Raiders’ program around was what made Wilson-Bennett commit to Colgate.
“When I committed, Coach Fargo had a plan. I bought in. He looked me in the eye and told me this is where we’re going to be eventually. The seven seniors on this team, we all jumped on board. We believed in him and he believed in us, and he’s put together this awesome group of girls. He had a vision and we’re just putting it in to action,” said Wilson-Bennett.
It took 96:03 minutes to decide a winner Friday night. Colgate had the lead three different times in regulation, but the Badgers were able to come back and tie the game each time. It was the longest semifinal game and the second-longest game in Frozen Four history.
Wisconsin outshot the Raiders 33-17 through regulation and 48-24 overall, but they could not seem to find a solution for Julia Vandyk, whose 45 saves were the fifth-most in Frozen Four history.
“We had chances. We had opportunities. And we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities,” said Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson.
Colgate took the early lead on one of their only periods of prolonged possession in the opening frame. Wilson-Bennett had her initial push to the net thwarted but she recovered the puck in the corner and circled back to the faceoff circle. Her shot on net deflected off Wisconsin defenseman Grace Bowlby and past Badgers goalie Kristen Campbell at the near post.
Wisconsin tied the game early in the second when Baylee Wellhausen was able to poke home a third chance. Abby Roque brought the puck from behind the net and had the initial shot and her own rebound before Wellhausen was able to get the goal.
The Raiders took the lead again with 29.9 seconds to go in the second period. Wilson-Bennett tipped in a shot from Megan Sullivan just as the first penalty in a 5-on-3 opportunity was ending. Roque was sent off for roughing and was joined by Mekenzie Steffen, who was called for hooking.
Vandyk averaged 24 shots faced per game this season. The Badgers had already surpassed that at about four minutes left in the second period. Her previous career-high in saves was 37, which she set in December against Robert Morris.
The Badgers tied the game at two near the middle point of the final frame with a power-play goal from senior captain Claudia Kepler. The Badgers have not been particularly successful with the player advantage this season, going 21-of-116 for a 18.1 percent success rate. But they scored when it mattered most as Kepler tipped in a long shot from the point by Maddie Rolfes to tie the game at two.
Clarkson got a power play with 7:29 to go in the game after a body check by Roque sent her to the box and Jessie Eldridge scored just before it expired on a shot that trickled through Campbell’s legs. The Badgers responded just more than two minutes later when Mekenzie Steffen’s shot through traffic beat Vandyk.
It was not the defensive night the Badgers wanted. They had never given up more than one power-play goal in a game before surrendering three on Friday. They’d also not given up more than three goals in a game all season.
Colgate will face ECAC rival Clarkson in the national championship game Sunday at 2 p.m. Clarkson won two of three meetings between the two this season, including a 3-0 win in the ECAC tournament title game two weeks ago.
But Wilson-Bennett isn’t too concerned about facing her biggest foe.
“The game plan always stays the same,” she said. “We just try and do what we do and that’s what brought us success so far, so we’re going to try and stick with that plan.”
