2008 Woodie Awards
Women knock off Badgers
Travis Weldon
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: Sports
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The SCSU women's hockey team (2-3-1) split their weekend series against the No. 1 ranked Wisconsin Badgers (5-1-1) at the National Hockey Center. SCSU took Friday's game 2-1, but Wisconsin rebounded with a 5-0 shutout Saturday.
"I think we played really solid, but we had some let downs (Saturday) that got us in a hole," coach Jeff Giesen said. "We've got to learn from those mistakes. We know it's a long year."
Friday's victory for the Huskies marked the first loss in 32 games for the Badgers, going 28-0-4 in that span.
Sophomore Minnesota State transfer Felicia Nelson ended the streak with her game winner midway through the third period.
"It's more than I can ask for." Nelson said. "Everyone wants to get the big goals, and to get it right off the bat, that's something special."
On a three-on-two rush into the offensive zone, Laura Fast passed it to Megan McCarthy on the right side. McCarthy's pass connected with Nelson's stick and beat the goalie.
"I was thinking that we needed to put one away to win this game," she said. "It was a perfect pass right on my stick."
Senior goaltender Kendall Newell made 35 saves between the pipes.
"We were hoping (Newell) didn't have to bail us out as much as she did," Giesen said. "(Wisconsin is) pretty deep with a lot of offensive power. She was amazing tonight. She made some great saves."
Newell said she has been seeing the puck well and credits her defensive core.
"The team played well in front of me and made sure there wasn't a lot of rebound opportunities in front of me," she said. "I just tried to smother the rebounds or put them in the corner."
The game did not end without a fair dash of drama.
With plenty of congestion in front of the net, Wisconsin appeared to have beat Newell with seven seconds left in regulation.
When asked about the goal, Newell let out a sigh of relief.
"It was a shot, then a player - two players - I don't know how many were on top of me," she said. "I heard Brita (Schroeder) yelling 'get up,' so I got up. I knew (a Wisconsin player) was still sitting in the crease. I knew right away it wasn't suppose to be in."
The Huskies held the Badgers off the board for seven seconds to dethrone the two-time defending champions.
Newell has posted a 2.76 goals against average and .922 save percentage this season, despite facing some stiff competition in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
"We've had a tough schedule here right away and I knew all summer that I would have to be focused for the first six games," she said.
Sophomore Meaghan Pezon recorded her team-leading third goal of the season, much like her game-winning goal against Minnesota six days prior.
"(Schroeder) took a shot from the point and I was like a kid in a candy store with the whole net just sitting there," she said. "Then (Caitlin) Hogan took it and I was like - (disappointed sigh). Hogan said she saw me coming and she just dropped it on my stick. It couldn't have been a more perfect pass. I give her a lot of credit for that one."
The sophomore line of Pezon, Hogan, and Holly Roberts have accounted for 10 of the team's 21 points this season.
"We were together a lot last year and that helped," Pezon said. "We're all the same type of player - we all like to score. We cycle the puck well with each other and we've just been really clicking. It's helping us win so I don't mind."
Wisconsin came out firing on Saturday and turned it around with a 5-0 victory.
The Huskies could not contain the firepower of freshmen Hilary Knight and Mallory Deluce, who contributed with seven combined points.
"I was only thinking about that loss yesterday," Deluce said. "I just wanted to work hard and skate hard to every puck make plays and hopefully get some good chances. I thought we really improved the second game."
Knight and Deluce lead the league with 11 points each. Other line mate Jinelle Zaugg added two goals and an assist.
"We played for 60 minutes and were able to put the puck in the net," Badger coach Mark Johnson said. "Overall, we played six pretty good periods and we're happy with the way things went."
Johnson was impressed with the way the Huskies played this weekend.
"When you play some of the top teams around, it can get to prepared for the season in a real hurry," he said. "It gets you up to speed right away. They've got a good team and they're going to beat people."
The Huskies travel on the road for the first time this season with a non-conference match with Robert Morris next week.