3/4 RECAP: Minnesota Wins WCHA Final Faceoff Championship

Only once the puck crossed the red line and into the empty net was Minnesota able to celebrate Sunday.

With Minnesota holding on to a one-goal lead against the top-ranked Badgers, Wisconsin spent nearly two minutes in the Gopher end before Nicole Schammel sealed the game by skating in alone and scoring an empty-netter with 13.3 seconds remaining.

“It felt pretty good once that went in,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost, noting Patrik Stefan’s missed empty net attempt in the NHL as reason to not count a goal before it happened. “Once it crossed the line I felt good.”

The Gophers celebrated again once the final whistle was blown, defeating Wisconsin 3-1 Sunday to take home the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff championship. Sidney Peters made 31 saves Sunday as her team claimed victory over the Badgers for the first time in five attempts this season.

Minnesota (23-10-4), winning the tournament for the first time since 2014, earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The eight-team field will be announced Sunday evening.

“Once it crossed the line I felt good”

“I think you could tell they really wanted it, especially at the end of the game. They were very excited when they won and I think that’s a big factor in how they played hard. I think we played really well. We had out chances to win,“ Wisconsin forward Abby Roque said. “We might see them down the road. We’ll see, so hopefully we can come back and bounce back.”

Taylor Wente and Taylor Williamson each scored for the Gophers off redirected shots.

Wente didn’t take long to put Minnesota ahead, tipping an Emily Brown shot into the net 66 seconds into Sunday’s championship. Delaney Drake, however, evened the score three minutes later on Wisconsin’s (30-4-2) first shot.

Having shut out Ohio State on Saturday, Peters was able to regroup.

“One of the biggest things as a goalie is knowing you’re going to be scored on and you have to have a plan when it happens,” said Peters, who finished with 64 of 65 shots stopped on the weekend en route to being named the WCHA Final Faceoff MVP.

Williamson gave the Gophers back the lead 1:40 into the second period with her third goal of the season. The junior forward, who sat out three months while dealing with the effect of being diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, tipped Olivia Knowles’ shot off the post and past Wisconsin goaltender Kristen Campbell.

“Our third line, we just focus on winning every single shift. When I saw Livy get the puck up at the point, I was doing everything I could to get in front of the net,” she said. “(Knowles) had an amazing shot and I was able to tip it.”

Campbell finished with 21 saves. The Badgers had defeated Minnesota by one goal in each of the four games played between the two teams, but were held off from getting the tying goal.

Needing to defeat two of the top-five teams in the nation on consecutive days to make the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota enters on a four-game winning streak.

“I think with the growth that we have had learning to play a full 60 minutes has been huge for our team. Our ability to outwork and play that full 60 minutes is huge,” Williamson said. “These teams are so good. If you let down for a second they are going to capitalize on that opportunity. Us recognizing that you just have to win every single battle every single shift was a big difference maker.”


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