Box Score Mankato, Minn. --- Minnesota State stood tied 1-1 with second-ranked Wisconsin at the end of the first period, but the Badgers scored twice in the second period and eventually pulled away for a 5-2 win over the host Mavericks in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association matchup Friday evening at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in downtown Mankato.
A shot from just inside the blue line from Jesse Compher gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead just 39 seconds into the contest. Minnesota State sophomore Alexis Paddington got her fourth goal of the season at 13:43 and the two teams entered the locker room at the end of the period with the score knotted at 1-1.
Maddi Wheeler tipped a shot off a pass from Lacey Eden past Maverick netminder Lauren Barbro at 1:03 of the second period to make it a two-goal Wisconsin lead and when Caroline Harvey ripped a shot high gloveside at 16:46, it became a 3-1 lead.
Freshman forward Taylor Otremba tallied an unassisted breakaway goal at 3:51 of the third, pulling the Mavericks within one once again, but the Badgers who have now won the last four meetings between the two teams, scored twice before the end of the game to claim the win. Kirsten Simms scored on a deflection at 4:46 and Eden slid the puck under Barbro's pads at 8:35 to close things out.
The Badgers, who upped their record to 14-2-1 overall, 11-1-1 WCHA, owned a 42-19 advantage in shots on goal in the contest. The Mavericks stand 7-10-0, 5-10-0 WCHA with tonight's result.
The two teams close out the two-game league series tomorrow with a 3:00 p.m. faceoff scheduled.
