Sophomore Caroline Harvey had herself quite the weekend for the No. 2 ranked University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team. Harvey ended an overtime thriller Saturday afternoon with an explosive goal, and followed it up with the go-ahead goal in the second period during the Sunday matinee.
She would tack on an assist later in the third period to make it three points on the weekend, as she took home the WCHA Defender of the Week Honors. For Harvey, it has been a difficult season as she has battled injuries for the first time in her career, but she said that it has “only made it that much sweeter.”
Here’s a closer look at how the games unfolded this weekend:
Game one (UW 2, St. Cloud State 1 – OT)
The No. 10 ranked Huskies struck quickly on Saturday afternoon, with Laura Zimmerman wrapping it around the right side of UW’s goaltender Jane Gervais. Her shot made contact with forward Taylor Lind’s stick, so Lind was credited with the goal, and Zimmerman credited with the assist. Following the goal, Wisconsin applied pressure throughout the remainder of the first period, but were unable to get on the board.
Forward Kirsten Simms appeared to have an open shot late in the first period, but whiffed on the puck. There were multiple loose pucks in front of Huskies’ goaltender Jojo Chobak, but she escaped the period unscathed with 12 saves.
The Badgers would respond midway through the second period. Defender Vivian Jungels fired a shot on Chobak, who made the initial save, but forward Maddi Wheeler was there to collect the rebound, and fire it into the net from the right side.
Then, with just over nine minutes to go in the third period, Simms scored off a rebound for what looked like the go-ahead goal—or so it seemed. Harvey had knocked off the mask of Chobak, causing a stoppage in play, so the refs waved off the goal.
UW continued to apply pressure, firing in 43 shots on goal by the end of regulation. It was a heroic effort from Chobak, who seemed to single-handedly force the game into overtime. With 2:13 remaining in overtime, it was Harvey who used her effortless speed to beat her defender down the left side of the ice, and buried a slap shot over Chobak for the 2-1 overtime win.
“[It was] one of the more physical teams we’ve played all year,” long-time UW head coach Mark Johnson said — complementing both teams’ efforts Saturday. “[It] showed how strong the league is.”
Game two (UW 5, St. Cloud State 2)
St. Cloud State started strong once again Sunday afternoon — holding the Badgers without a shot on goal for the first six minutes of the contest. With 12:10 remaining in the first, forward Alice Sauriol took the puck behind the net, and swung it around in front of the net past goaltender Ava McNaughton. The puck appeared to deflect off of forward Katie Kauffman and past McNaughton for the goal. Johnson challenged the call in hope of goaltender interference, but the ruling on the ice stood.
The Badgers bounced back just minutes later, as forward Laila Edwards fired a shot from just inside the blue line. Huskies’ goaltender Sanni Ahola made the initial save, but forward Kelly Gorbatenko was there to deflect the puck into the back of the net.
UW continued their momentum into the second period, as Harvey fired from close range to score the power play goal, and go ahead 2-1. Wisconsin has been terrific on the power play, scoring at a clip of just over 30 percent this season.
Defender Laney Potter would tack on a couple of insurance goals in the third period to extend the lead to 4-1. Forward Taylor Lind responded for the Huskies with a power play goal with nine minutes left, but it was too little too late, as forward Lacey Eden would seal the deal with an open-net goal with just under four minutes remaining.
Looking Forward
With the sweep, the Badgers extended their win streak to eleven. They go on the road to visit the Bemidji State University Beavers, who hold a struggling 4-22-2 record. Puck drop will be on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CST and Saturday at 3:00 p.m. CST.
The post Women’s Hockey: Harvey leads Wisconsin to sweep against St. Cloud State appeared first on The Badger Herald.