MADISON — The top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers survived a scare on Thursday night for their home opener at LaBahn Arena as Boston College seemed to have goalie Jane Gervais figured out and played a stout defense to push the home team to their limit.
Boston College jumped out quickly as senior defender Sidney Fess sniped the Eagles’ first shot of the game from a tight angle and scored top shelf to give them a 1-0 lead. But Wisconsin responded just as quickly, as junior Lacey Eden’s second swat at a rebound from grad student Britta Curl’s shot found the back of the net.
A minute after that, sophomore Laila Edwards sent a one-timer on net that looked like it was stopped, but trickled through Boston College goalie Grace Campbell’s five hole and was loose in the crease. Junior Sarah Wozniewicz made sure it crossed the line and made it 2-1 Badgers.
The lead lasted all of 82 seconds as Sammy Smigliani’s drop pass from along the far boards found Julia Pellerin in the slot where she redirected it past Jane Gervais to tie the game at two.
Kirsten Simms’ interference penalty gave BC a player advantage and defender Jade Arnone skated past two Badgers to get in on net, where she grabbed a top shelf goal of her own to give Boston College the 3-2 lead, which they carried into the first intermission.
Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said he considered switching goaltenders during the first frame, but ultimately decided to give Gervais the chance to adjust and learn.
“I was close to maybe making a change, just because of the nature of the way the game was going. You don’t want it to get away from you,” Johnson said.
It was a dream start for the Eagles, who coach Katie Crowley said played exactly the game she wanted them to play against the speed and size of Wisconsin.
“We knew [Wisconsin and Clarkson] were going to be two big strong teams that we’re playing against [in the first two weeks].I love the way that we’ve weathered both those two games last week and then this game here today and hopefully tomorrow because that’s going to help us go a long way as the season starts,” said Crowley .
“I thought we played tremendously. I was really proud. We stuck to the game plan and they played the way that we asked them to play and I thought they played great.”
In the second, Marianne Picard tied up the game on a feed from Wozniewicz that she carried in a full circle around the zone before picking out the pass.
The Badgers continued to pile on the shots, netting 22 in the period, but didn’t gain the lead until midway through the frame when a neutral zone turnover and busted clearance dropped the puck in front of Curl, who one-timed a wrister to the back of the net and made it 4-3 Wisconsin.
Campbell set a new career high for saves before the second period ended. She headed to intermission with 37, five more than her previous high. She ended the game with 51 saves.
It was a standout performance from a goalie that Crowley said deserved to get more attention.
“I hope that there’s some people that start to see her a little bit more, because she’s a very, very good goaltender. She’s very calm. She doesn’t get riled up,” Crowley said.
In the third, grad student defender Chayla Edwards scored her second collegiate goal on a shot from the high slot that deflected into the net. Her previous goal came in October 2019 – her freshman year – against LIU.
Curl and the rest of Edwards’ teammates showed some extra excitement for the goal and not just because it provided a little bit of breathing room.
“She’s just loved by everyone on the bench. She’s an awesome teammate. She lifts other people up and she never takes anything for herself, so it’s nice to see her get a goal and get some success individually because she deserves it,” said Curl.
The win was an uncharacteristic one for the Badgers, who rarely give up so many goals in the first period and have never won a game when allowing three goals or more in the first period – they were 0-21 before earning the win on Thursday.
Curl was proud of the resiliency Wisconsin showed.
“It’s early. I think we had a couple of defensive breakdowns and they were really taking advantage of those. Sometimes it’s good to see how we respond and claw back,” she said.
For his part, Johnson felt like his team was not connected, but is happy they came out with the win.
“The first thing we have to do is compete. That’s the foundation. We have to compete for 60 minutes. It was too loose for me, but it’s a great teaching opportunity,” he said
“Their goaltender played well, and overall it’s a game that we can learn from and move forward and tighten up some things and become better because of playing it.”
