No. 3 Badgers tame No. 5 Terriers to advance to NCAA Frozen Four

MADISON, Wis. -- Thanks to a fast start, the No. 3 Wisconsin women's hockey team advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four with a 5-1 win over fifth-ranked Boston University at LaBahn Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Badgers (29-6-4) meet Border Battle rival Minnesota (32-3-4) in the semifinals of the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis next Friday at 5 p.m.

"Obviously we're real excited," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "We have the opportunity go to the Frozen Four. I thought the atmosphere for women's hockey today was outstanding. Both teams had fans, there was a lot of energy, there was electricity." Annie Pankowski scored twice for the Cardinal and White, as the freshman has a team-high 20 goals to go along with 42 points this season. The Laguna Hills, California, native got the Badgers on the board first, scoring on a breakaway off of a brilliant pass by Mellissa Channell from deep in the Badgers defensive end, just 2:56 into the first period. Senior defenseman Katarina Zgraja added a slap shot from the blue line at the 15:54 mark in the first to put UW up 2-0 heading into the first intermission. Wisconsin is now 23-0-1 when leading after the first period this season. The Badgers are also 24-1-2 when they makethe first strike. "I think that's always a goal that we have is to put our best foot forward and set the pace from the beginning of the game," Pankowski said. "I think we did that this game for sure in the first five minutes." Pankowski scored her second goal of the game at the 15:43 mark of the second period as her low-angled shot went off of a BU (25-9-3) defenseman's skate and bounced into the net. With a delayed penalty call signaled thanks to Baylee Wellhausen's efforts in the offensive zone, Emily Clark picked up Wellhausen's rebound and added the Badgers fourth goal with just over a minute to play in the second period. Wisconsin's Brittany Ammerman earned a five-minute game misconduct for a contact to the head penalty in the third period, but BU committed two back to back penalties, giving the Badgers a four-on-three power play. Jenny Ryan capitalized on the opportunity, tipping in the power-play goal off of Blayre Turnbull's shot at 12:07, giving UW a 5-0 lead. The Terriers avoided the shutout with a goal late in the game as Victoria Bach scored on a wrap-around with just under three minutes remaining. The Badgers outshot the Terriers 48-21 in the game, and had a 20-9 advantage in the second period. In the postseason this year, Wisconsin has outscored its opponents 22-4, and the Badgers have scored at least four goals in every playoff win. "It's an exciting time of the year," Zgraja said. "I think our team is just a point right now where we're clicking amazingly on every line and every pairing. It was a great set up and a really great pass. I think we're doing a good job getting pucks to the net right now." Sophomore netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens recorded 20 saves to improve to 26-6-4 this season. BU's Victoria Hanson took the loss, recording 40 saves. The Badgers meet the Gophers for the second-straight year in the NCAA Frozen Four, as Minnesota bested UW, 5-3, last season. Wisconsin dropped the season series against Minnesota 0-3-1, but the tie came in the team's last meeting on Jan. 11 in Minneapolis. "All we need to focus on is keep playing our game and playing how we are right now," Desbiens said. "We need to focus on that. We're doing so well since the playoffs started so we just have to keep it easy and simple."