Wisconsin hockey's Laila Edwards gains redemption in overtime thriller vs. Minnesota
MADISON – Laila Edwards redeemed herself nicely Friday night.
The sophomore forward for the Wisconsin women’s hockey team closed out yet another overtime Border Battle with Minnesota with her third game-winner of the season.
The goal lifted the second-ranked Badgers’ to a 4-3 victory over the fifth-ranked Golden Gophers. The score also allowed Edwards to breathe a sigh of relief after committing a penalty that led to a Minnesota power-play goal with 61 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime.
The Gophers, who had already pulled their goalie, needed just 7 seconds to tie the game.
“At this level I think it’s important to keep a level head and I was a bit down after getting that penalty,” Edwards said. “But I think the main emotion I felt after getting that goal was just relief because I knew I let the team down and I had to make it up.
“I felt instant relief and I was very grateful.”
While Ohio State moved a win away from clinching the WCHA title with a 12-1 victory over St. Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, Wisconsin (27-4, 21-4 – 62 points) extended its lead to five points over the Gophers (24-6-1, 18-6-1 57) in the race for second place.
The overtime was par for the course in this rivalry. It marked the ninth time a game between the two went to extra time in the past four-plus seasons.
The puck drops for the series finale at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Any time we play the Golden Gophers, it’s a rollercoaster, and it's pretty back and forth, but we expected that,” senior Britta Curl said. “I thought we played really well in the first (period). They got one on us, but we never deflated.”
The latest installment was a big night for the Edwards sisters. Before Laila’s game-winner, her older sister Chayla, a senior, recorded two assists for her second straight multi-point game and fourth of the season.
Junior Lacey Eden (two assists) also finished with two points.
One of Eden’s assists set up UW’s first goal, which came off the stick of freshman Laney Potter at the 9:35 mark of the first period and tied the game, 1-1.
About 5 minutes later sophomore Marianne Picard scored off the rebound of Chayla Edwards’ shot to give the Badgers a 2-1 edge.
Chayla Edwards also was credited with the secondary assist on Curl’s score at the 7:26 mark of the third period. That goal gave Wisconsin a 3-2 lead.
Five of the 12 points Badger players scored Friday came from players on the team’s third lines or lower.
“That’s a sign of something that is good and positive when you can get some depth in your scoring,” UW coach Mark Johnson said. “It certainly puts confidence in the players who do it. More importantly it makes it more challenging to play against us.”
In overtime junior goaltender Jane Gervais (26 saves) turned around two shots before Edwards’ game-winner ended the night.
“I don’t know how it happened until I go back and look at a video,” she said. “I don’t even know where it went in or even if I put it in – I think I did.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin women's hockey wins overtime thriller vs. Minnesota
