Cassie Hall scores hat trick, No. 1 Wisconsin bounces back vs. Minnesota

• The top-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team defeated No. 3 Minnesota 6-1.
• The victory came one day after Minnesota snapped Wisconsin’s 15-game unbeaten streak.
• Wisconsin played without five top players who left to compete in the Olympics.
• The win keeps Wisconsin in first place in the WCHA standings ahead of a series with No. 2 Ohio State.

The 15-game unbeaten streak of the Wisconsin women’s hockey team was snapped by Minnesota Jan. 30. One day later the Badgers came back with vengeance.

Top-ranked UW defeated No. 3 Minnesota, 6-1, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis to maintain its lead in the WCHA and score four of the six points for the series.

The Jan. 31 performance was a good sign for a team that has retooled due to the loss of five top players who have left to compete in the Olympic Games.

Box score: No. 1 Wisconsin 6, No. 3 Minnesota 1

Four players had multi-point performances and six scored a point. At the other end of the ice, Wisconsin allowed just 14 shots on goal during the first two periods and freshman goaltender Rhyah Stewart notched her first WCHA win with 24 saves.

The effort was similar to UW’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Gophers on Friday in how the Badgers controled the puck. The difference Saturday was Wisconsin finished its chances better.

The victory came without Badgers coach Mark Johnson, who missed the game to attend the funeral of a close friend. The win also came without sophomore forward Hannah Halverson, who was banged up Friday and couldn’t go Saturday.

As a result of Halverson’s absence, freshman Mackenzie Jones moved from defense to the Badgers’ second line with sophomore Maggie Scannell and senior Claire Enright.

Wisconsin seemed unfazed by the changes as it scored three times during the first 12 minutes to set the tone for the afternoon.

More: With 5 players headed to Olympics, who steps up for Wisconsin women’s hockey?

Junior Cassie Hall, who recorded her second career hat trick, had a hand in each score first period score. She scored the first off a power play 93 seconds into the game, then assisted seinor Vivian Jungels at the 9:19 mark and finished off a nice pass from junior Kelly Gorbatenko at the 11:21 mark.

Hall completed her hat trick 9 minutes into the second period off an assist from senior Lacey Eden.

Jungels, meanwhile, recorded the first multi-goal game of her career and her third multi-point game of the season in addition to leading the team with four blocks. Eden (two assists) extended her points streak to 14 games.

The victory sets up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with Ohio State on Feb. 7-8 at LaBahn Arena. Wisconsin (24-2-2, 18-2-2, 57 points) leads the WCHA the Buckeyes by two points.