MADISON, Wis. - The No. 4 Boston University women's hockey team dropped a 6-1 decision to the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
Junior forward Taylor Holze notched her second goal of the year to make it a 1-1 game 3:36 into the second stanza, but a four-goal third period sealed the contest for the Badgers. Sophomore goaltender Kerrin Sperry was solid once again for the Terriers, making 33 saves before junior Alissa Fromkin took over to make one save in the final half of the third period.
Like yesterday, Sperry was called upon early and often in the first period, as she made 15 saves, many of them spectacular. Wisconsin earned a pair of 2-on-1 opportunities with about six minutes gone in the frame, but Sperry denied the Badgers each time, including once with a terrific left pad save.
Senior captain Jenn Wakefield nearly had the Terriers ahead, 1-0, as she rang a shot off the pipe. The play was reviewed, but the play ultimately stood and the game remained scoreless.
Wisconsin scored a power play goal with 2:03 remaining in the first, as Brianna Decker notched her 10th goal of the season. Despite the goal, the BU penalty killers were solid in the first, blocking many shots and being the benefactors of great goaltending by Sperry.
Holze evened the score for the Terriers early in the second stanza. Junior forward Jill Cardella got the puck to senior Kasey Boucher, who fired a shot on goal from the left point. Holze was stationed in front of the net and she used a nifty redirection to beat Badger goaltender Alex Rigsby (22 saves) and tie the game, 1-1.
The penalty killers made the difference in the middle session, as they went 3-for-3 in the period, including killing off a 5-on-3 situation. Overall, Wisconsin was just 1-of-6 on the power play.
The good penalty killing nearly paid dividends in the offensive end as the 5-on-3 expired. With BU back at even strength, junior forward Isabel Menard began a 3-on-2 rush and entered the Badger zone. She fed the puck to Cardella, who then slid a pass to rookie forward Kayla Tutino on the left wing. The pass just went under Tutino's stick, but it was a good response after a strong kill.
Wisconsin made it 2-1 with 1:07 remaining in the second, as Blayre Turnbull lit the lamp for her second goal of the season. The Badgers began the third period with two goals in a span of 1:01. First, Decker notched her second of the game at the 4:31 mark. Then, at the 5:32 juncture, Hilary Knight scored to make it a 4-1 game.
Decker completed a hat-trick with 11:56 remaining in regulation to make it a 5-1 game. Turnbull added her second of the game to complete the scoring.
Sperry made 15 saves in each of the first two periods. Fromkin closed the game between the pipes for BU, playing the final 11:29 of the contest.
The Terriers will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 2, when BU begins Hockey East competition with a trip to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face off against the No. 4/5 Boston College Eagles. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.