Despite 47 saves by senior goaltender Alexa Dobchuk and a second period equalizing goal by
junior forward Luci Bianchi, the St. Thomas women’s hockey team was unable to best No. 4 Wisconsin as they lost 3-1 Monday night at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights.
The Monday night matchup between the Tommies (4-20-1, 2-18-1 WCHA) and Badgers (20-3-4, 15-3-3) was a makeup from a two-game road series at Madison that was set for Jan. 15 and 16 but was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
“When you’re going against a team as good as Wisconsin, I feel like anything’s possible,” Dobchuk said. “This division is so strong that you kind of have to expect anything, any number of shots, any kind of situation.”
After a fast offensive start for the Badgers, who kept the puck in St. Thomas’ end of the ice for much of the first period, the Tommies were able to hold Wisconsin to a 0-0 tie going into the second.
However, the Badgers entered the second period red-hot offensively as they scored just 38 seconds in. Senior forward Sophie Shirley netted her seventh goal of the season on a breakaway during a St. Thomas line change.
Shirley has three goals this season against the Tommies, one in each of the three matchups.
The Tommies responded just minutes later as junior forward Luci Bianchi scored her fifth of the season after a steal that led to her own breakaway.
“I think I get some lucky breaks—it is speed, but I get some lucky breaks,” Bianchi said of her goal.
The Tommies gained some momentum after Bianchi’s goal, which lit up the home crowd. Fifth-year forward Daryl Watts stopped St. Thomas in its tracks with a shot from the slot after a strong pass from sophomore forward Makenna Webster with 12:10 remaining in the second.
Despite giving up two goals in the second period, Dobchuk played an “incredible” game, according to interim head coach Bethany Braunsen.
“I saw more confidence and conviction from her than I’ve seen all year,” she said. “She’s been unbelievable, just from a physical standpoint… but tonight something was different from her.”
Dobchek is a senior transfer from Colgate University with a lot of experience but still thanks her defense for her performance.
“I always have to credit my defense,” Dobchuk said. “I feel like I’m seeing the puck well, which means they’re doing their job well.”
The Tommies pulled Dobchuk with just over a minute remaining in the game in hopes of netting an equalizing goal, but the Badgers capitalized on the empty net with 13 seconds remaining.
“The last time we played them the scores were very, very different. Now it was 2-1 with an empty netter; that was an incredible improvement for us,” Dobchuk said.
The Tommies last took on the Badgers in a two-game home series on Nov. 20 and 21, falling 7-1 and 5-1, respectively.
Braunsen believed her team played well despite it being the first day of spring semester and an unusual Monday night game.
“We asked our players to rise to the occasion and play a Monday night game, something they’ve never had to do,” Braunsen said. “Maybe we’ll have to change the game plan moving forward and schedule some more Monday nights because the performance and the effort was pretty incredible tonight.”
The Tommies take on St. Cloud State on the road Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minn. in hopes to break their 15-game losing streak.
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.
Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu.