(UW ATHLETICS) MANKATO, Minn. – Thanks to goals from reigning WCHA Players of the Week Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms, the No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team earned a 2-1 win at Minnesota State on Friday afternoon at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Wisconsin (18-1-0, 12-1-0 WCHA) received a power play less than a minute into the game and capitalized. Kirsten Simms found space behind the net and passed it to Harvey in the high slot, who beat Minnesota State (6-8-1, 2-8-1 WCHA) netminder Hailey Hansen on her stick side. The Badgers killed off a Minnesota State power play to maintain their 1-0 advantage into the first intermission.
Five minutes into the second period, Wisconsin extended its lead to two. Laila Edwards sent a nifty pass over to O’Brien who sent a cross-ice pass over to a wide-open Simms to one-time it into the back of the net. The Mavericks scored on the power play late in the second period to send the game into the third period 2-1.
The Badgers killed off a penalty with 11 minutes to play and then squashed another Maverick power play with six and a half minutes to go in the third.
Ava McNaughton stopped 23 of 24 shots she faced for her 17th win of the season.
Notes of the Game
- Harvey now sits in third place in school history in defender scoring with 109 points, breaking the tie with Courtney Burke. Harvey needs only 22 points to pass Sis Paulsen for the most points in school history by a blueliner.
- Harvey’s 35 points this season rank seventh in school history and are only four shy of her career high of 39 set during her freshman season. Harvey is the only defender in school history to record three seasons with 35+ points.
- With two assists Friday, O’Brien has now recorded multiple points in five games straight and extended a point streak to seven.
- The Badgers have posted a power-play goal in 14 of their 19 games this year.
Straight from the Rink
Junior Caroline Harvey
On the gritty win
“It was great, we got the win. We definitely needed that. I think overall we can clean some things up and be on the same page a little more tomorrow but we still got it done regardless.”
On the red-hot power play
“It’s been great moving the puck. The four out there — Simms, Edwards, (Lacey) Eden and O’Brien — they see the ice so well so it’s easy to work with them. The other power play line is doing great work too. It’s a huge momentum shift for us. It’s great to have it all working the way it’s been.”
Junior Kirsten Simms
On the tough nature of the game
“We started off pretty good, then we got a little bit complacent towards the middle but we got back to our game toward the third. It was a back and forth, not a lot of scoring chances on both ends. We were able to come out with the win but I think we’ll come out a lot harder tomorrow.”
On Ava McNaughton in net
“She’s been unbelievable top to bottom since the start of the year. She’s come a long way since last year and she keeps us in a lot of games. We need to help her out on the backside but she’s been playing unbelievable this year and we can’t thank her enough for how good she’s been playing.”
Up Next: The Badgers play their final game of the 2024 calendar year on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Minnesota State.
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