Minneapolis, Minn. — The No. 5 Minnesota women's hockey team defeated top-ranked Wisconsin 2-1 on Friday night at Ridder Arena. Minnesota remains the only team to have beaten the defending champions this season, and have done so twice.
Minnesota (18-6-1) and Wisconsin (18-2-3) were deadlocked in a scoreless contest for almost 35 minutes before junior defender Madeline Wethington snuck down from the point and buried her sixth of the season. With 11:51 to go in the third, Amy Potomak was given a five-minute major penalty for boarding. Wisconsin took advantage of the call and evened things just 19 seconds into the penalty. Potomak would prove to be the hero in the end as the redshirt senior tucked a backhand shot under the bar with 2:34 remaining for the game-winning goal.
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Makayla Pahl stopped 40 of 41 shots in her seventh victory of the season. The junior netminder has yet to lose a game she has started this season. Wisconsin's Blair made 20 saves in the loss.
"Just a phenomenal win tonight," said head coach Brad Frost. "We just gutted it out. If you look at the shots, it might tell a different story, but Makayla [Pahl] played great in net. We did a really nice job taking away the back door and protecting the net front all night. Amy [Potomak] getting the five-minute penalty and then coming out and getting the game-winning goal with a heck of a finish was amazing. I'm really proud of our team. It's a big win for us with a big crowd at home. We're enjoying this one, but getting ready for tomorrow."
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Redshirt senior forward Amy Potomak became the second Gopher this season to reach the 100 career point milestone. Minnesota moves to 2-0-1 against Wisconsin this season. After the win today, the Gophers sit in sole possession of first place in the WCHA. The Gophers scored first for the 21st time this season.
The Gophers and Badgers complete this weekend's border battle series tomorrow at 4:00 pm at Ridder Arena.
