Four goals in first period helps Wisconsin women's hockey complete sweep of Merrimack
MADISON – It was almost like the Wisconsin women’s hockey team never left the ice.
Friday night the Badgers closed their victory over Merrimack with three goals during the final four minutes. Saturday afternoon they kept the pressure on the Warriors, getting three goals during the first six minutes.
The scores set the tone for a dominant first 15 minutes and laid the foundation for a 6-1 victory over Merrimack in the series finale at La Bahn Arena.
The victory, which came with sophomore Caroline Harvey (illness) out for the second straight game, raised the third-ranked Badgers’ record to 16-4.
“You can practice for an extended period of time,” UW coach Mark Johnson said, “but you have to play a game, whether it's an exhibition game or a non-conference game or even a league game, to get things going again because that's when you find out where you're at and what you need to do to get better. It was a good way to start the second half.”
BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 6, Merrimack 1
Sophomore Kirsten Simms (two goals, two assists) recorded her third four-point game of the season. Senior Britta Curl finished with one goal and two assists while freshmen Cassie Hall and Laney Potter posted a goal and an assist. Potter's goal was the first of her career.
Freshman goaltender Ava McNaughton finished with 16 saves and fell four minutes short of getting the shutout.
The Warriors, however, never recovered from the first 15 minutes when the Badgers scored four times before allowing a shot on goal.
Junior Sarah Wozniewicz got UW on the board at the 2-minute, 25-second mark. It was her first goal in two months.
“I thought Woz was one our better players tonight,” Johnson said. “She was first on puck. Every time she was on the ice she seemed to have the puck quite a bit. It was fun to see her get rewarded early on.”
Simms followed with back-to-back scores at 3:07 and 5:54. Hall scored at the 14:16 mark to give UW its first four-goal period since it scored five times during the second period against Bemidji State on Oct. 21.
The performance capped a productive first weekend for Wisconsin that included a 12-2 advantage in goals, a 91-35 edge in shots and 15 players getting a point.
It was a productive two days for a team that hadn't played in almost a month.
“Even after a break we’re still hard on pucks right off the bat,” Simms said. “It didn’t take us too long to get back into our game and get back into our flow of things.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin women's hockey starts fast, completes sweep of Merrimack
