University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Fall To Wisconsin 3-0 In Championship Game
3/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Vetter, who was named the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player, gave up only one goal during the entire NCAA Tournament and did not allow a goal in the either the semifinals or finals. She became the first goalie to ever record a shutout in NCAA Women’s Frozen Four history when she shutdown St. Lawrence 1-0 in Friday’s semifinal and is the first goalie and freshman to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. Others named to the 2006 All-Tournament team included Minnesota’s Bobbi Ross and Ashley Albrecht, Wisconsin’s Jinelle Zaugg and Bobbi-Jo Slusar and New Hampshire’s Jennifer Hitchcock.
On Sunday, Wisconsin took control from the start of the game. On the power play after Minnesota’s Anya Miller was called for holding at 9:17, the Badgers scored 39 seconds into the man-advantage at 9:56 when Slusar’s slapshot from the blueline was deflected to teammate Cyndy Kenyon at the left of the goal. Kenyon immediately passed it to Zaugg who sent it high over Gopher goalie Brittony Chartier’s right shoulder. It was the second-fastest opening-game goal in a championship game history, trailing only Minnesota Duluth’s Caroline Ouellette’s goal at 5:17 of the first against Harvard in 2003.
The Badgers then made it 2-0 only 30 seconds later when senior Grace Hutchins redirected Nikki Burish’s shot over Chartier’s glove hand.
Wisconsin went up 3-0 at 9:08 in second when Zaugg scored her second power-play goal of the contest with a one-timer over Chartier’s left shoulder. Junior Sara Bauer, who won the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation’s best female hockey player on Saturday, and Kenyon assisted on the goal.
For the game, Minnesota outshot Wisconsin 31-19, including 14-4 in the third, but the difference was Vetter. In the tournament, Vetter stopped 95 shots, setting and NCAA Tournament record, and went 201:04 minutes without giving up a goal. The previous record was 92 set by Ali Boe of Harvard in 2005.
Minnesota finished the season with only three losses since February. All three losses came to the national champions. The Gophers, who lost four Olympians and two goaltenders from last year's championship team came up just shy of winning their third consecutive national title.
Minnesota said good-bye to its five seniors in Ashley Albrecht, Chelsey Brodt, Natalie Lamme, Krista Johnson and Allie Sanchez. This year's senior class was one of the most prolific in school history making it to four Frozen Fours. Of the four, they walked away with two national championships and a second-place finish this season.
NCAA Division I Women’s Frozen Four
March 26, 2006 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Championship Game
Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 0
Wisconsin won its first national title and is now 1-0 in one NCAA Division I national championship game, and 3-1-0 all-time in two appearances in the national tournament.
Minnesota is now 2-1 in three NCAA Division I national championship games, and 7-4-1 all-time in five appearances in the national tournament.
Wisconsin concludes 2005-06 season on a 12-game winning streak, which ties the school record for most consecutive victories.
Minnesota now leads the all-time series against Wisconsin by a 24-9-2 margin, though the Badgers won the 2005-06 series by a 5-1-0 mark.
Western Collegiate Hockey Association schools have captured all six NCAA Division I national championships (Minnesota Duluth: ’01, ’02, ’03; Minnesota: ’04, ’05; Wisconsin: 06).
Wisconsin freshman goaltender Jessie Vetter named Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player.
2006 All-Tournament Team: Wisconsin freshman goaltender Jessie Vetter, Wisconsin junior defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar, Minnesota senior defender Ashley Albrecht, Wisconsin sophomore forward Jinelle Zaugg, Minnesota sophomore forward Bobbi Ross and New Hampshire sophomore forward Jennifer Hitchcock.
Minnesota sophomore forward Bobbi Ross tied the Frozen Four record with four goals scored in the semifinal and championship games combined, though all four goals came in the semifinal round against New Hampshire.
Goal scored by Wisconsin sophomore forward Jinelle Zaugg at the 9:56 mark of the first period was the second-fastest opening game marker in championship game history (record 5:17, Caroline Ouellette, Minnesota Duluth vs. Harvard, March 23, 2003).
The 30 seconds elapsed between Wisconsin goals by Zaugg at 9:56 and senior forward Grace Hutchins at 10:26, both of the first period, are the second-fastest consecutive goals scored by teammates in championship game history (record 0:23, Harvard’s Jennifer Botterill and Lauren McAuliffe vs. Minnesota Duluth, March 23, 2003).
Zaugg’s second goal of the game at the 9:08 mark of the second period made her just the fourth player in championship game history to record a multi-goal effort, joining Natalie Darwitz (Minnesota, 2004 three goals), Kristy Zamora (Brown, 2002 two goals) and Hanne Sikio (Minnesota Duluth, 2003 two goals). Her 19:48 between her first two goals is also the third- fastest consecutive goal performance in championship game history (record 12:50, Darwitz, Minnesota vs. Harvard, March 28, 2004).
Wisconsin’s four shots on goal in the third period tied for the second-lowest total in championship game history, and its five shots on goal in the second period tied for the fourth-lowest total in championship game history (record 2 in the second period, St. Lawrence vs. Minnesota Duluth, March 25, 2001).
Badger senior forward Cyndy Kenyon became the 10th player in championship game history to post a multi-assist game.
Wisconsin posts first-ever shutout in a national championship game. The Badgers also become the first team to post consecutive shutouts in the Frozen Four as those were the first-ever shutouts in Frozen Four history.
The three-goal margin of victory was the second-highest in championship game history (record 4, Minnesota vs. Harvard, 6-2, March 28, 2004).
Lowest scoring championship game in Frozen Four history (previous record 5, Minnesota Duluth (3) vs. Brown (2), March 24, 2002).
Badger goaltender Vetter closes out season with 201:04 scoreless streak. She also sets NCAA tournament record with 95 saves over the course of three games (previous record 92, Ali Boe, Harvard, 2005).
Wisconsin’s 19 shots on goal is new record for fewest shots in championship game (previous record 24 by Minnesota vs. Harvard, March 27, 2005).
The 50 combined shots on goal by Wisconsin and Minnesota ties the championship game record for fewest combined shots on goal, equaling Minnesota (24) and Harvard (26) on March 27, 2005.
The combined 11 penalties were the second-most committed in championship game history (record 16, Harvard and Minnesota Duluth with eight apiece, March 23, 2003). Wisconsin’s six penalties tied for the third- highest championship game total, while Minnesota’s five penalties tied for the fifth-highest (record 8, twice).
Wisconsin’s five assists were tied for the third-highest championship game total (record 8, Minnesota vs. Harvard, March 28, 2004).
WISCONSIN QUOTES
University of Wisconsin Head Coach Mark Johnson:
Opening Comment: “ I guess so many things are going through my mind, the first thing that comes to mind is I would like to congratulate Minnesota I though Laura did a nice job with her team this year, the improved every month and they became more difficult and more challenging to play each time we played them, hats off to them for getting the opportunity to play for the national championship. We new it was going to be a difficult task and you have to de-thrown the champions, they are the two time defending champions and they are in their back yard and we knew the task was going to be difficult. I am just really extremely proud of the young ladies, we talked in September about making a commitment and climbing to the top and we knew there was going to be hurdles and challenges along the way and they were able to meet each one of them. I told them before the game that know you get an opportunity to play for the ultimate goal in Division I women’s hockey that is all you can ask for and we were fortunate enough to come out and put forth a good effort. We had a goaltender that did an outstanding job, not only in today’s game but certainly in the game against St. Lawrence.”
Talk about how this compares to winning the national championship as a player and winning a gold medal...”I find it different as a coach, I find it more nerve racking, there is sleepless nights, as a player you get excited to play in these types of games and that is what you work hard for, the chance to play for a national championship. To have my daughters in the locker room and having my family here this afternoon watching us do what we did, those are special moments. Obviously I have been touched with a lot of nice things throughout my playing career and now I have something from a coaching stand point and that is really special. I feel very lucky to be blessed with good players and to have had this opportunity and the chips just fell into place. It has been a great year.”
Talking about the power play coming together at the end of the season...”In playoff games your special teams have to be good and you have to score what I consider timely goals. Your power play can look ugly for a while but when you can capitalize on the power play it can be a turning point. We were able to kill the first power-play opportunity that Minnesota had and then we came right back and capitalized on a power-play opportunity of our own. When you can score it brings energy to your team and it brings a little excitement to your bench and most importantly it will settle you down a little bit. Today we were able to score on a couple of them and the third goal was a rocket shot that was well placed and it was a great shot. Certainly it is a big difference being up 3-0 compared to 2-0.”
Talking about not letting Minnesota score...”Every time Minnesota scores it brings energy not only to the players but it also brings excitement to the building. At this time of year goals bring a lot of energy, you could see our bench when we scored the first goal it was energy it was excitement, and at the same time it will settle players down. Thanks to the play of Jessie we were able to keep Minnesota off the scoreboard and were able to keep the crowd out of the game. To score the first goal playing in Minneapolis against the gophers was huge for us.”
Talk about putting a freshman in net in the biggest games of the season, and talk about her throughout the season and how you chose her over those other goaltenders...”Jessie red shirted last year and came into this season with high expectations. Unfortunately she had mono through the first eight weeks of the season so for her to come back and play was going to be a challenge because she had lost strength and conditioning and obviously there were two good goaltenders ahead of her.
University of Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter
On winning a national championship for her home state ... It’s very exciting. I mean Jinelle and I have won national titles together in club and playing for the University of Wisconsin it’s been my dream and I’m sure it’s been Zaugg’s dream because we both chose to go here. It’s very exciting and we’re excited to bring the trophy home.
On confidence level and play in championship game... Coming into the tournament off a big win against Mercyhurst my confidence was pretty high, especially when coach gave me the nod to play Friday night I was like wow, ok let’s go and I just made the first save in every period and that got me into the game. Not allowing them to score in the first period was huge for me because then I go into the locker room and I get really loosened up and have fun and try to have a good game.
On last three minutes of game, what it was like to be on verge of a championship... It’s definitely much easier staying calm with a three goal lead but I knew I just had to stay in the game and just make the saves I needed to make and my team was going to crash the net and get all of the rebounds because we were all defense the last three minutes. We have a three goal lead, we’re not trying to score any goals but we just played good defense the last three minutes and it’s great to come out with a championship.
University of Wisconsin forward Jinelle Zaugg
On winning a national championship ... It’s definitely a dream come true. We’re trying to make a name for Wisconsin and we say in the locker room that Wisconsin is the new state of hockey.
On what happened on the first goal of game... My job a lot of times is to stand in front of the net and screen the goalie and get rebounds and I think we were fortunate to get a good bounce, I mean it didn’t bounce to far and the goalie was out of position because it was a great shot from the point so I just found it and put it in the net I guess.
On how smooth the team plays compared to others... I think the coaches do a great job at scouting the teams and how there penalty kills are like so it can help us be able to set up differently on a big ice sheet like Mark was saying compared to on a small ice sheet which opened things up more to move certain ways. It definitely helps but reading the situation and reacting and finishing.
University of Wisconsin defensemen Bobbi-Jo Slusar
On how smooth the team plays compared to others... I don’t know I just think we go out there and do our own thing. Obviously Mark has a lot of experience and we just go out there and play our game and the coaching staff helps out a lot to keep us in the game and keep us up and positive. For the most part I think it’s really up to us. We just have to go out there and do what we do and hopefully the team will be chasing us and I think we did that today.
On what happened on the first goal of game... On the power play we just try to get the puck to the net and they gave me the open shot so I delivered it to the net. Like Mark said we really didn’t plan it. It bounced around and Zaugg got a hold of it after I believe it hit Cindy, so I was trying to get it to the net and I think good things happen when you get it to the net.
MINNESOTA QUOTES
University of Minnesota Head Coach Laura Halldorson:
Opening statement... “First I want to congratulate Wisconsin, Mark Johnson, and his staff. They are a tremendous team and we struggled against them a little bit this year. But, I am really proud of my team and we came a long way. I was a little slow coming up [to the press conference] because in the locker room it was sad. But, it was a good year and today we just couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the net. The crowd would have gone crazy but just to get to that championship game was huge for us.”
On what makes Wisconsin good... “They have three very strong lines, a good set of D, and obviously strong goaltending. They have been hard for us to beat and for anybody in the country. They are just solid and make it hard to score against. They also have a good power play that was very successful today.”
On the possibility of an emotional letdown after the thriller two days ago... “I would say that we were ready to go today. There were some nerves, but we were the four seed coming in and beat the number one seed. And if we would have beat the number two seed, it would have been just short of a miracle. I am proud of our effort. The UNH game was unbelievable, but we just didn’t have enough to beat the Badgers today.”
On the two power play goals scored by UW... “I think it was. The first goal was on the power play and any time you can get the lead early it is huge. And they followed it up with a 5-on-5 goal shortly after that. And the third goal was really important, if we would have scored next to make it 2-1, but they got that second power play goal and it might have been the dagger.”
On how this team put aside losing three key players from last season... “It was a reality this year that this team was different. We lost an incredible amount of talent. It was something that required an adjustment period at the beginning of this season since we were so young and people had to fulfill different roles. But as the course of the season went on we evolved, we grew as a team and roles were defined. An identity was created and it didn’t take very long for this team to stop talking about last year. I think the media kinda caught on to the story late in the season and people do realize that going from last year to this year and finishing as high as we did is a great accomplishment.” On the parody created in the WCHA... “There definitely is more parody in the WCHA. It has been a couple years that Wisconsin has been right in the mix. They have had a strong team and they have come close to making it to a Frozen Four. This was there year. So I congratulate them and they have a very good team.”
University of Minnesota junior forward Andrea Nichols:
On Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter... “She just stood on her head today. She saw most of the shots we got through and the ones she didn’t their D were there to clean us up. We had quite a few shots in the third period and she saw every one of them. They just played tough defense on us.”
On how this team put aside losing three key players from last season... “Nobody expected us to make even make it to the Frozen Four. Losing Olympians that led us on the ice and off the ice, nobody ever thought we could do it. So that’s just a huge accomplishment in itself.
University of Minnesota sophomore forward Bobbi Ross:
On being satisfied with the season... “Coming into this game, second place definitely wasn’t our goal. We aren’t satisfied; you don’t lose a game and be satisfied with yourself. For today’s game we are unsatisfied, but once we get a few days to get over this loss looking back on this season there will be a whole lot to be proud of. Every single individual on our team can be so proud of themselves and everything they did this season. So in that respect, today aside, we accomplished so much more than anyone thought we would.”
On how this team put aside losing three key players from last season... “We said from day one that we didn’t need just three players to step in and fill the shoes of those three goal scorers, but needed 21 players to step up and replace it. We replaced that raw talent with strength of character and unity among everyone on the team and that gave us just that much more to be proud of.
