Fifth-ranked Badgers sweep women's hockey

Penalties and two terrible first periods were too much for the UND women's hockey team to overcome. The Sioux were swept by the NCAA No. 5 Wisconsin 5-1 and 7-2 last weekend.

Saturday's Game

The game began on the slow side for both teams. For the first few minutes of play, there were only two shots on net combined. However, it didn't take long for Wisconsin to catch on fire. At the 8:58 mark, junior Cyndy Kenyon slipped the puck past Sioux goalie Margaret-Ann Hinkley, giving the Badgers a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, the Badgers scored again, this time off the stick of senior assistant captain Jackie Friesen on the power play. Just a few minutes later, Wisconsin senior Nicole Uliasz knocked in her third goal of the season, giving the Badgers a 3-0 lead heading into the first break.

The second period began a little rough for the Sioux. A hard hit sent sophomore Alexia Gagnon-Laplante to the ice, and the Badgers were whistled for a five-minute major. Gagnon-Laplante left the game with a broken collarbone. Later at the 6:32 mark, Wisconsin junior Sharon Cole increased the Badgers' lead to 4-0 with a shorthanded goal. The Sioux finally scored at the 17:19 mark, when senior captain Marissa Hangsleben slipped a rebound of a shot by junior Anne Girtz past Badger goalie Christine Dufour. The goal was Hangsleben's second on the year.

The final period was filled with tough defense and a lot of close shots on net for the Sioux. Unfortunately, none of them were able to get past Dufour, who made 20 nice saves on the night.

"We had lots of opportunities, we just didn't get enough traffic in front of the net," Sioux head coach Shantel Rivard said.

The Sioux were also hit hard with penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct penalty in the second period.

"The refs called a good game, we just made some dumb penalties," Rivard said.

Another problem that the Sioux had to deal with in the game was having to play with only one center, with Gagnon-Laplante out and freshman Melissa Dianoski serving the misconduct penalty.

"Marissa (Hangsleben) had to move to center to straighten everything out, and our lines had to work longer shifts because of it, so that put us in a tough situation," Rivard said.

Sunday's Game

The game began on the rough side for the Sioux. Just 44 seconds into the period, Badger sophomore Lindsay Macy scored her 10th goal of the season, giving Wisconsin a quick lead. Later at the 5:11 mark, freshman Jinelle Zaugg scored her second goal of the season, stretching the Badgers' lead to two goals. A couple of minutes later, goals by senior Jackie Friesen and sophomore Kristen Witting gave Wisconsin a four-goal lead. Sioux junior goalie Amber Hasbargen was then replaced with Hinkley. Kenyon completed the scoring for the Badgers at the 17:01 mark, with her fifth goal of the season. Overall, it was a terrible period for the Sioux. Wisconsin was able to get off 11 shots in the period to UND's two. As a matter of fact, the Sioux went without a shot on net for the first ten minutes of the game.

The second period began with lots of tough defense as both teams struggled to get shots on net. Finally, at the 8:12 mark, Sioux freshman Cami Wooster was able to slip the puck past Badger goalie Meghan Horras, for her seventh goal of the season, getting the Sioux on the board. Just 10 seconds later, Meaghan Mikkelson responded giving the Badgers a 6-1 lead.

The Sioux were able to cut the deficit by two at the 15:01 mark, when sophomore Sarah Connelly scored her third goal of the season. Freshman Melissa Dianoski picked up the assist. "Melissa (Dianoski) did a great job of crashing the net, and I got a good look and was able to put it in," Connelly said.

The period ended with the Sioux down 6-2.

Friesen notched her second goal of the game at the 5:48 mark of the third period, making the final score 7-2.

While the Badgers were blazing, the Sioux, on the other hand, seemed to be ice cold the entire game, especially in the ugly first period.

"Wisconsin was able to get a quick start on us, and we weren't able to respond. We just ran out of gas," Rivard said.

Said Connelly, "We just didn't come out with a lot of confidence."

However, Rivard was happy with the team's work ethic. "Nobody gave up," Rivard said. "We stayed fighting till the end, which was good to see."

The Sioux now head out east to take on Quinnipiac. The puck drops at 5 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.