Mankato, Minn. --- Trailing to No. 1 Wisconsin 3-2 with 16 seconds remaining in regulation, Minnesota State went on the power play and pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. Minnesota State won the faceoff and had a scoring opportunity, but time ran out and Minnesota State lost to Wisconsin 3-2 on Friday evening inside Verizon Center.
Wisconsin (7-0-0, 1-0-0-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) scored the only goal of the first period – 50 seconds into the game – when Abby Roque found the back of the net. Presley Norby assisted on the play.
After neither team scored for the rest of the first period, Minnesota State (1-3-1, 0-1-0-0 WCHA) scored twice in the second period to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead. Megan Hinze, a junior defenseman, tied the game with her first goal of the season – on the power play – at 3:12 of the period. On the play, freshman forward Brittyn Fleming recorded her team-leading fourth assist of the season and senior defenseman Emma Wittchow recorded her first helper of 2017-18. A little over 10 minutes later, senior forward Lindsey Coleman scored at the 13:44 mark to give the Mavericks a 2-1 lead. Junior forward Jordan McLaughlin recorded her third assist of the season on the play, while Hinze tallied her second.
The Mavericks entered the third period with a 2-1 lead, but Wisconsin showed why they are the No. 1 team in the nation – scoring two goals in the period to regain the advantage. Norby tied the game at 2-2 at 4:53 – assisted by Claudia Kepler and Mikaela Gardner – and Sophia Shaver scored an unassisted goal for the game winner at 7:37 of the period.
Minnesota State had its final chance as the seconds ran down, but came up short, 3-2.
Junior Katie Bidulka (1-2-0) made 26 saves in net for the Mavericks, while Kristen Campbell (7-0-0) stopped 18 shots for the Badgers.
Minnesota State finished 1-of-3 on the power play and Wisconsin finished 0-of-1.
Wisconsin held a 29-20 edge in shots on goal.
Minnesota State and Wisconsin wrap up their two-game WCHA series on Saturday afternoon at Verizon Center. The game is scheduled for 3:07 p.m.
Watch head coach John Harrington's postgame interview below.
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