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UMD sophomore Maddie Rooney stopped Wisconsin’s Annie Pankowski and faced 46 shots while beating the Badgers 4-1, then faced 47 more in a 4-1 setback. Photo credit: John Gilbert

UMD’s two hockey teams are running in parallel universes that seem to coincide a lot, as both put their goaltenders to work to remain among the elite programs in national ratings on their respective sides of the ledger.

   The Bulldogs men had dipped from the No. 1 to No. 2 rank in the national polls of Division I teams by splitting two games with Western Michigan, then they went off to Omaha to face Nebraska-Omaha, another highly regarded team, last weekend. UMD stalked to leads of 2-1 and 4-2 at the intermissions of the first game, then struck for a pair of third-period goals to go up 6-2, before letting freshman goaltender Hunter Miska hang on for a 6-4 victory. All four UNO goals came on power plays.

   In Saturday’s rematch, Miska again held on for a 3-2 victory and a sweep of the series, which resulted in the Bulldogs being vaulted back up to the No. 1 spot, going into a two-week break.  the two victories -- sparked by Miska’s fine hand and a balanced scoring attack – thrust UMD back up to the top rung.

   At 7-1, and 10-2-2 overall, UMD’s men go into a two-week break solidly No. 1. Meanwhile, UMD women went into last weekend’s huge series against No. 1 ranked and undefeated Wisconsin at AMSOIL Arena with plenty still to prove. The Bulldogs had proven they could compete with the WCHA’s two elite powers, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but competing and coming close are something different from actually beating them.

Wisconsin defenseman Jenny Ryan beat Maddie Rooney at point-blank range for the first goal Saturday. Photo credit: John Gilbert

   So, with a giant thanks to sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney, the Bulldogs proved they could beat the Badgers. UMD coach Maura Crowell and I had a discussion a few weeks ago about the one-line scoring, with Ashleigh Brykaliuk and Lara Stalder – UMD’s top two players – working with different centers to produce almost all the team’s goals. I mentioned that Stalder came to UMD as a defenseman, and was outstanding at both ends of the ice, defending but also contributing to the offense.

Lara Stalder (21) moved back to defense but it didn't prevent her and Sidney Morin (5) from joining Ashleigh Brykaliuk for some offense. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Crowell decided to experiment with the move against the Badgers.

   Coach Mark Johnson’s Badgers came to Duluth but left star goaltender Amm-Renee Desbiens back home, injured. Freshman Nikki Cece played instead, and the Badgers hit the ice as if intent to make her night easy. The Badgers outshot UMD 20-3 in the first period, but, thanks to Rooney, it was 0-0. Michelle Lowenhielm, a junior center from Sweden skating between Katie MNcGovern and Sydney Brodt, scored a power-play goal in the second period for a 1-0 UMD lead.

   McGovern and Katerina Mraova scored in the first six anbd a half minutes of the third period, and when Wisconsin’s Maddie Rowe broke through Rooney with 8 minutes left, Brykaliuk clinched it with a goal a minute later. UMD was outshot 46-30, but Rooney’s 45 saves assured a 4-1 upset victory.

   Saturday afternoon, they went at it again, but the idea that the Badgers would come out flying to atone for their only loss of the season were dispelled when the teams skated to a 1-1 standoff and UMD had the edge in shots 12-6. Wisconsin struck when defenseman Jenny Ryan got the puck deep in the right corner and carried it to the goal, leaving a UMD checker behind. Ryan made a deke to her backhand and jammed the puck through Rooney midway through the period for a 1-0 lead.

   UMD came back for a goal by Sidney Morin, who moved in from the point on a power play and scored for a 1-1 deadlock.

   However, the Badgers got it back in order after that, registering a 20-2 shot avalanche in the second period, and inching ahead 2-1 when Annie Pankowski scored her first goal of the season. In the third period, the Badgers got 21 more shots and Pankowski scored twice more for a pure hat trick and a 4-1 victory. Pankowski, a junior from California, wound up with an even-strength goal in the second period and a power-play tally plus a short-handed goal in the third.

   “We got more quality chances tonight,” said Badger coach Johnson, the former Badger All-America, 1980 U.S. Olympian, and NHL standout. “But they definitely defended us well, and they got great goaltending.”

   Crowell said, “Pankowski is a real good player, and we were able to keep her off the board last night.

   “It was a good weekend for us. Sometimes we forget how good we are. Moving Stalder back to ‘D’ was a big part of our win in the first game, and it gave us more offense. We couldn’t get it going on our power play, but it was only 2-1 going into the third period.”

   Crowell said she thought Stalder did a good job on defense, and could spend more time on the ice back there, but when asked about this weekend, she said “TBD,” meaning to be determined. Crowell will take the Bulldogs “home” for a game Friday and Sasturday at Harvard, where she and her staff have coached and/or played.

   Amazingly, after becoming the only team to beat Wisconsin all season, the Bulldogs dropped from third to fourth in the national rankings. Wisconsin stayed No. 1, and Minnesota stayed No. 2 after tying twice at North Dakota and claiming the extra standings point both nights in the shootouts that followed overtime.

   Regardless, the Bulldogs have reached a plateau where they could be dropped one spot in the ratings and be annoyed about it. They head East with the knowledge that they not only can play with the elite teams, they can beat them.