Fight to the end

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 2 Minnesota women's hockey team took five of six WCHA points from Wisconsin on the weekend with a 1-1 overtime tie and 1-0 shootout win at Ridder Arena Sunday afternoon, following Saturday's 4-1 Gopher victory.

Junior Hannah Brandt tied the game with just over six minutes remaining in regulation before scoring the lone goal in the three-round shootout. Fellow junior Amanda Leveille made 32 saves on 33 shots during regulation and overtime before stopping the Badgers in the shootout. She combined for 55 saves on 57 shots in the series.

"I'm proud of our team for the guts that they showed," head coach Brad Frost said. "Leveille played great. She kept us in there until we could get one, and I'm really happy with, obviously, five points on the weekend, but more importantly just with the way our kids found a way to tie the game up and win the shootout."

After almost two full scoreless periods, Wisconsin (17-3-2, 13-3-2-0 WCHA) took a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the second period when Emily Clark slipped a shot past Leveille on her stick side.

"We were not at our best tonight," Frost said. "I thought we looked somewhat sluggish and tired... Wisconsin looked fresh, they looked determined and they played extremely well, hemmed us in our zone for significant times, extended periods of time in particular in the second period."

Despite being outshot 14-8 in the second period and 13-6 in the third period, Minnesota found a way to tie it up late in regulation and send the game to overtime. Senior Meghan Lorence skated the puck around the Wisconsin net and centered a pass, which deflected off a player in the slot. The puck bounced out to Brandt, who tipped it past UW netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens on her glove side to tie it up at 1-1 with 6:32 to go.

Minnesota (19-1-3, 12-1-3-1 WCHA) outshot the Badgers, 5-0, in overtime but could not find the game-winner. The official score would go down as a 1-1 overtime tie, but the Gophers secured an extra point in the league standings with a 1-0 shootout victory.

The shootout saw Brandt score followed by a wide shot by UW's Annie Pankowski. In the second round, Desbiens stopped a shot by freshman Kelly Pannek, but Leveille responded with a save on a Brittany Ammerman attempt. Sophomore Dani Cameranesi's attempt needed to be reviewed but was called no goal in the third round before Leveille finished off the shootout with a save on Katy Joseph's shot for the Badgers.

Both teams were scoreless on the power play as Minnesota was 0-for-2 and the Badgers were 0-for-3. The Gophers are 0-for-9 on the power play in their last four games.

Wisconsin now leads Minnesota by one point in the WCHA standings, 41-40, but the Badgers have played two more league games than the Gophers with six weeks remaining in the regular season.