Wisconsin women's hockey shuts out Minnesota-Duluth in All-American Caroline Harvey's return

MADISON – Saturday was a win-win afternoon for the Wisconsin women’s hockey team.

The second-ranked Badgers got one goal and one assist from senior Britta Curl and junior Lacey Eden in a 3-0 victory over No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday in front of 2,273 at La Bahn Arena to snap a two-game losing streak.

Better yet, the team welcomed back sophomore Caroline "KK" Harvey after the All-American missed seven games due to a lower-body injury.

Harvey assisted on UW’s final two goals and took three shots in her return.

The game was Wisconsin's first at home since it competed a sweep of Bemidji State on Oct. 20-21. The Badgers (13-2, 9-2 WCHA) are also coming off a stretch of two weekends off in the last three.

Getting back into the flow of competition was a challenge early.

“The first 8, 10 minutes of the game we had to get back to our game legs, which I thought we did halfway through the first period,” Badgers coach Mark Johnson said. “I thought we were better in the second period and I thought we were pretty good in the third period.”

The victory also marked the return of Kirsten Simms, who didn’t play in the series finale at Ohio State on Nov. 18. The game also marked the fourth shutout of the season for junior goaltender Jane Gervais and the first game-winning goal for freshman Kelly Gorbatenko, who found the net at the 4-minute 22-second mark of the second period.

Wisconsin allowed 10 shots in the first period and then gave up just 10 shots over the final two periods. Duluth (9-5-1, 6-5) managed just three chances in the final 20 minutes on the way to its third loss in the last five games.

“They were just amazing in front of me, blocking some shots, keeping the players to the outside, that’s huge, ” Gervais said. “All-around it was a good game defensively.”

Wisconsin outshot the Bulldogs, 51-20. Curl had a team-high 12 shots.

Curl and Eden scored the Badgers final two goals. Both plays were assisted by Harvey, who had not played since Oct. 20.

According to Gervais, who had one of the best views in the house of Harvey on the ice, it looked like Harvey didn't miss a step.

“She might have a different perspective on that but it felt like she was never gone,” Gervais said. “She’s just such a special player. Any time she’s on the ice with us it makes a big difference.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin hockey shuts out Minnesota-Duluth; Caroline Harvey returns