MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin sophomore Nikki Burish (Madison, Wisc.) scored twice to lead the Badgers to a 7-0 victory over visiting Vermont at the Kohl Center.
The #6 ranked Badgers swept the first-ever women’s hockey series between the two schools after posting a 2-0 victory in the season opener on Friday night.
UVM goaltender Kami Cote (Copperton, Utah) posted a strong performance in net with 49 saves, but could not hold off the Badger offense as it continued another dominating attack against the Vermont net, recording 56 shots on goal to Vermont’s 13. Wisconsin goaltender Jessica Bernal (Los Angeles, Calif.) tallied seven saves in the first two periods, while frosh goaltender Christine Dufour (Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec) had six saves in the final period.
While the Catamounts held the Badgers scoreless through two periods Friday night, Saturday’s game was a different story. Wisconsin jumped onto the scoreboard early courtesy of Molly Engstrom’s (Siren, Wisc.) first goal of the season. The U.S. Under-22 National Team defender finished off a pass from Grace Hutchins (Winnetka, Ill.) in the opening minutes of the first period. Teammate Jackie Friesen (Regina, Saskatchewan) put UW up 2-0 with 1:47 left in the period.
Wisconsin kept up its barrage on Cote throughout the second period. Meaghan Mikkelson (St. Albert, Alberta), a freshman who played for Canada’s U22-National Team this past summer, added her second goal in as many games in the opening minutes of the second period. Burish fired in an unassisted goal at 4:52 to push the lead to 4-0.
The Badgers used the final period to spread their offensive firepower,while the Catamounts rallied for a game-leading six shots against Dufour, but could not break the shutout.
Vermont fell into penalty trouble in the closing minutes of the game,allowing Wisconsin to capitalize on back-to-back power plays. Burish recorded her second goal at 8:18 and senior Stephanie Boeckmann (St. Cloud, Minn.) beat Cote in net for the seventh and final Badger goal at 6:10.
Vermont falls to 0-2 on the season, while Wisconsin improves to 2-0. The
Catamounts return to action next weekend. UVM hosts Providence on Saturday, Oct. 18 and Northeastern on Sunday, Oct. 19 in the Catamounts home openers.
Both games begin at 2:00pm.
-Athletic Communications
