University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
32-4-1, 24-3-1-0
Wisconsin
34-3-1, 24-3-1-1
Gophers Drop 1-0 Decision to Badgers
3/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
March 6, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's hockey team fell 1-0 to top-seeded Wisconsin in the 2016 WCHA Final Face-off championship game at Ridder Arena Sunday afternoon.
"I'm proud of our players," Minnesota head coach Brad Frost said. "They battled and competed tonight. We didn't score, and, when you don't score, it makes it really difficult to win. I credit Wisconsin for that. I know it's a simple statement, but it's true. We had our chances and couldn't find a way, and they were able to bang one home."
Wisconsin (34-3-1) used a goal by Sydey McKibbon at the 13:12 mark of the second period to take a 1-0 lead, and the Badgers held on for the win. McKibbon poked a loose puck past Gophers netminder Amanda Leveille, who made the initial save on a shot by Rachel Jones but could not gain control of the puck in a scramble in front of the Minnesota net.
Minnesota (32-4-1) went scoreless on four power-play opportunities and outshot Wisconsin, 35-24. Leveille finished with 23 saves while Badgers netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens made 35 saves in her fourth-straight shutout.
"I thought Leveille played great early in the first period and kept them off the board, and kept us in the game," Frost said. "Then, all of the sudden, we started finding our legs a little more and playing a little better. Overall, not happy with the outcome but, in regards to the process part and what we ask of our player, they did everything that they could here tonight and played with a lot of passion, so I'm proud of them for that."
Gophers Amanda Kessel and Sydney Baldwin joined Wisconsin's McKibbon, Desbiens, Courtney Burke, and Emily Clark on the WCHA Final Face-off All-Tournament Team. Desbiens was named the tournament MVP.
"You never want to lose, especially for a championship versus Wisconsin," Hannah Brandt said. "We did this last year, we lost 1-0; it was in the semifinals though. After that we kind of went on a little run, so we just have to get back at it this week in practice, and whoever we get on Saturday, just play a great game and hopefully we make it to the Frozen Four and then go from there."
Minnesota advanced to the WCHA title game after defeating North Dakota, 2-0, in Saturday's semifinal round while Wisconsin secured its place in the championship game with a 5-0 semifinal win over Minnesota Duluth.
With the WCHA title, the Badgers earn the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. The entire NCAA field will be announced live on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. CT Sunday night, and the NCAA quarterfinal round is set for March 11-13.
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