DULUTH – Even before either team had set a skate on the ice, coach Brad Frost described the unpredictability of this decades-old rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin.
"I've always said flip a coin when our two teams play against each other," he said during an interview on Thursday. "Great rivalry, two very skilled teams. It's been an interesting rivalry."
In the latest meeting, Wisconsin's Caroline Harvey sent a rising wrist shot past Gophers goalie Skylar Vetter in the last four minutes of overtime, lifting the Badgers to a 3-2 win in the semifinals of the NCAA women's Frozen Four hockey tournament Friday night at Amsoil Arena. It was game that lived up to Frost's pregame billing: heavy offense, dexterous goaltending, sweeping momentum shifts, and a little luck.
"Very entertaining hockey game here tonight," Frost said afterward. "I think. For the fans."
With the victory, the Badgers (28-10-2) advance to the title game against Ohio State on Sunday. The Buckeyes shut out Northeastern 3-0 in the other semifinal.
The Gophers (30-6-3) got an early advantage when senior defenseman Emily Odin banked the puck off the boards and Taylor Heise put the rebound over Wisconsin goalie Cami Kronish's left shoulder just more than three minutes into the first period.
"I was disappointed in our play in the first 10 minutes," Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said. "I don't know if it was nerves, or being shell-shocked when there was a goal [early] in the game that put us on our heels."
The Badgers regrouped by the second half of the first period and continued through the second, shooting puck after puck at Gophers' goalie Skylar Vetter — shots that went wide, rebounded hard off her pads, or were snatched out of the air by the sophomore who had 35 saves.