Minneapolis, Minn. — The No. 5 Minnesota women's hockey team completed its first sweep over top-ranked Wisconsin since 2016 with a 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.
Wisconsin (18-3-3) kicked off a wild first period with a Brette Pettet goal just over four minutes into the game. Minnesota (19-6-1) answered with a goal from senior defender Crystalyn Hengler 96 seconds later to even the score. Following another Badger goal from Caitlin Schneider, the Gophers responded yet again with two goals. Freshman Ella Huber and senior Catie Skaja each scored less than 90 seconds after Wisconsin's go-ahead goal to grab the lead after the first period. Senior Taylor Heise tallied her 17th goal of the season in the second period to extend the lead to two. After Pettet tallied her second goal of the game, the Gophers slammed the door and secured the one-goal victory.
GAME 1: How Minnesota defeated No. 1 Wisconsin on Friday
Lauren Bench earned her seventh victory of the season and second against the Badgers this season following a 30-save performance. Wisconsin's Blair stopped 20 shots in the defeat.
"What an unbelievable weekend," said head coach Brad Frost. "In today's game, we had some great responses after we got down early. We fought back, they score again, and we fought back again with two more to take the lead. I thought we played really well in the third and limited their opportunities. This is a big weekend for our team. It's been a few years for our team since we've had a lot of success against them. They're a really good team, but we played really well. I'm really proud of our team — they earned it tonight."
BRACKET: Women's ice hockey bracket predictions, 2 months before selections
Minnesota sweeps Wisconsin for the first time since 2016 and becomes the first team to sweep the defending champions since 2018. The Gophers complete the regular season unbeaten against the Badgers for the first time since 2014-15 after going 3-0-1. Minnesota moves to 16-0-1 when leading after the first period.
The Gophers travel to Columbus, OH, to take on the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes next weekend.
