Ridder Arena was rocking Friday night when Molly Jordan scored in overtime for a 3-2 Gopher women’s hockey win over Wisconsin. The Badgers quickly quieted a full house on Saturday afternoon. Cassie Hall scored two of her three goals in the first period and Wisconsin went on to rout Minnesota 6-1. Edina’s Vivian Jungels added two goals. It’s the second-most goals allowed by the Gophers this season, trailing only a 7-2 loss on Nov. 1 at Wisconsin. “There’s no excuses. We got it handed to us tonight and we need to be better,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said. Chloe Primerano scored in the third period for Minnesota, which next plays St. Thomas in a home-and-home series beginning Friday in St. Paul. “We won the third period, which is important. We can build on that, but it was too late at that point,” Gophers winger Emma Kreisz said. A weekend split was not surprising for a series between two of the top three teams in the country. Still, Saturday’s domination was shocking. “To split with the best team in the country, we’re not far away, and we know that anything can happen on any given night, but there’s a ton of positives to take from that,” Frost said. Wisconsin (24-2-2, 18-2-2 WCHA) is ranked No. 1, with its only losses coming to the third-ranked Gophers (23-5-0, 17-5-0), who had won 11 straight before Saturday. It was clear early that streak would end. Before the public address announcer could finish voicing a Minnesota penalty, the Badgers made it 1-0 with Hall scoring on a rebound 93 seconds into the game. In full control, the Badgers made it 2-0 midway through the frame when Jungels scored on a slap shot from low in the left circle. “It’s hard to bounce back when you start to play and then you’re already two goals down. It’s hard to get in the game like that,” Kreisz said. A Minnesota turnover resulted in a 3-0 Wisconsin lead barely two minutes later when Hall and Kelly Gorbatenko perfectly converted a 2-on-0 opportunity. Much of the second period was no better for the home team. Maggie Scannell, Hall and Jungels scored in the opening 12 minutes to make it 6-0, sending more than a few Minnesota fans to the exits. “The last probably seven, eight minutes of the second period, we finally got to our game, we’re competing, we’re on top of things,” Frost said. One of the biggest rivalries in collegiate women’s hockey was played without top players from each squad who’ll be participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics. Minnesota was missing forwards Abbey Murphy (USA), Josefin Bouveng (Sweden) and Tereza Plosova (Czech Republic), and defender Nelli Laitinen (Finland). Wisconsin was missing four players who’ll be wearing red, white and blue in Italy: defenders Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards, forward Kirsten Simms and goaltender Ava McNaughton. Forward Adéla Šapovalivová will represent the Czech Republic. “They’re our top scorers and it’s tough, but it’s an opportunity for everyone to step up and score those goals for them,” Kreisz said. “It’s giving us motivation. Every time you’re on the ice, we want to win for them too, and make them proud.” Related Articles Women’s hockey: Tommies finish off weekend sweep of St. Cloud State Wrestling: Gophers beat Iowa for first time since 2014 Women’s hockey: Gophers edge No. 1 Badgers in OT Men’s Hockey: Gophers upset Wisconsin to snap seven-game losing streak Men’s hockey: Outdoor 4-on-4 helped Alex Gaffney regain his touch ...read more read less