Thanks to Alannah McCready and Brooke Ammerman, the sixth-ranked University of Wisconsin women's hockey team avoided what would have been a shocking sweep at the hands of Robert Morris.
McCready, a backup goaltender, stopped Brianna Delaney's penalty shot in overtime and Ammerman scored a rebound goal 3 minutes, 31 seconds into the extra period Saturday afternoon to give the Badgers a 3-2 victory before 1,951 fans in a nonconference game at the Kohl Center.
UW (6-4), which was without three regular skaters -- including defenders Malee Windmaier and Olivia Jakiel -- outshot the unheralded Colonials (4-6) 37-22 in salvaging a series that began with a 4-2 loss Friday.
"It was a pretty exciting game; it was end-to-end," said UW interim coach Tracey DeKeyser, who was without three regular skaters, including defenders Malee Windmaier and Olivia Jakiel. "I thought the momentum shifted back and forth in the third period, which was too bad because I thought we controlled the game for the most part, especially through the second period.
"I think the main factor was that we had a short bench today and so the fatigue started to show in the second half of the third period. We were tired, but I give them credit for battling through the distractions and continuous attacks."
Wisconsin took a 1-0 lead at 15:42 of the first period when Emily Kranz redirected Stefanie McKeough's shot from the left circle past Robert Morris goalie Daneca Butterfield.
The Colonials tied the game on the first of their power-play goals at 10:48 of the second period on a goal by Jamie Joslin from behind the blue line, but Nash answered with a goal on the advantage at 13:28.
Delaney -- who assisted on the first Robert Morris goal -- drew things even once more at 6:55 of the third period, bringing the puck from behind the goal line and sneaking it past McCready to set the stage for UW's first overtime game of the season.
However, McCready got the better of Delaney when it counted most.
After Robert Morris was granted a penalty shot when UW's Kyla Sanders was whistled for hooking on a breakaway, McCready made a pad save on Delaney's low shot attempt.
The Badgers scored the game-winner a little more than two minutes later. Mallory Deluce took a shot from near the left circle, and Butterfield made the initial save but couldn't control the rebound. Ammerman hopped on the loose puck and found the back of the net.
McCready finished with 20 saves, improving to 2-1 this season.
Up next for the Badgers is a nonconference series against Wayne State at the Kohl Center, with the opener slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. and the finale for Friday at 2 p.m.
Posted in Hockey on Saturday, November 7, 2009 10:15 pm Updated: 10:32 pm. | Tags: Uw Women's Hockey, Badgers, Robert Morris
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