Orange Can’t Contain the Badgers, Syracuse Dominated By No. 1 Wisconsin 6-1

By Eric Moon

CitrusTV Women’s Ice Hockey Reporter

Madison, WI – Despite scoring its first goal in two weeks, Syracuse (4-11-1, 4-3-0 College Hockey America) was no match for No. 1 Wisconsin (16-1-0, 7-1-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) in a 6-1 loss on Saturday. From the drop of the puck, it was all Badgers in front of a sold-out crowd at La Bahn Arena. They outshot the Orange 50-13 and dominated in every aspect of the game.

The scoring was spread out for Wisconsin as 12 players recorded at least one point. The last time the Badgers scored six goals in a game was Sep. 29 against Lindenwood. That includes five unanswered goals after Allie Munroe tied the game at one halfway through the first period.

It could have looked a lot worse on the scoreboard for SU if it weren’t for Maddi Welch. Despite allowing six goals, Welch stopped a flurry of Badger scoring opportunities with a 44 save performance. Her 44 saves, 36 of which came in the first two period, were a career high by almost 20 saves.

Defensively, Wisconsin tightened up on its end of the ice in front of goalie Kristin Campbell after Munroe’s goal. Campbell only faced ten Syracuse shots after the goal and thirteen throughout the game.

The loss extends the Orange losing streak to five games and the winless streak to six, with their last win coming at Penn State Nov. 4. Since then, including Saturday’s game, Syracuse has been outscored 24-9 by their opponents.

SU is now 0-8-1 in non-conference games this season, with all but two of those games coming against ranked opponents. The one unranked opponent, Princeton, is now ranked No. 10 in the country.

The two teams face off once again tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST at La Bahn Arena in Madison, WI. For both teams, Sunday’s game is the last non-conference game of the season.

ewmoon@syr.edu I @ericmoon22