Wisconsin draws the second-largest women's hockey crowd in NCAA history but falls to St. Cloud State

MADISON – No victory. No attendance record. No goals.

The eighth-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team fell to No. 14 St. Cloud State, 1-0, Friday night in front of 14,430 at the Kohl Center, the second-largest crowd for a game in NCAA history as the Huskies snapped a 33-game UW unbeaten streak in the series.

Senior Jenniina Nylund scored the winner at the 15:36 mark of the first period off passes from sophomore Dayle Ross and senior Taytum Geier, a native of Verona.

The Badgers (20-8-1, 16-6-1 WCHA) controlled the action with the exception of scoring. They outshot St. Cloud, 39-15, but suffered their fourth shutout of the new year.

Box score:St. Cloud State 1, Wisconsin 0

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“I think it comes down to the little gritty things,” senior defenseman Nicole LaMantia said. “They got a couple more bounces here and there, but we’ve got to tighten it up a little bit, 50-50 battles, pucks that are in the neutral zone. You want to make a pretty play and we have so much talent and oftentimes can make those pretty plays, but those pucks got to get deep.”

The contest marked the seventh Fill the Bowl Game. The Badgers and St. Cloud set the national record 15,359 fans at the Kohl Center in 2017. The second-best draw until Friday was the crowd of 14,361 that attended the UW-Ohio State game three years ago.

Wisconsin has hosted the seven most highly attended games in NCAA history.

The crowd marked another big moment for Badger women's sports. UW is the only school in the country to have three women’s sports programs draw at least 8,200 for single event this year. Wisconsin had 16,833 fans at volleyball’s Kohl Center Classic in September and drew 8,217 for basketball against Northwestern last Sunday.

“It was a great event," UW coach Mark Johnson said. "You compliment and thank the people who chose to come to the game tonight. I know it’s cold outside, but to have that kind of crowd in front of the teams was outstanding.”

Johnson often talks about how scoring goal can often lead to a flurry of others. His team almost got on the board first, but senior Britta Curl’s goal at the 14:54 mark of the first period was overturned by video review due to an offsides infraction.

“You could just see the energy on our bench and from the players when we did score, and the energy within the building,” Johnson said. “That was missing. We weren’t able to give the crowd something to cheer about, so that is the first thing that sticks out.”

UW’s struggles Friday were similar to the ones it faced against Quinnipiac and Minnesota-Duluth. Creating chances wasn’t the problem. Finishing was.

The Badgers' night Friday ended with a flurry of opportunities after they pulled goalie Cami Kronish. They had eight shots, many of them good chances, during the final 2 minutes.

The teams are scheduled to close out their weekend set at 3 p.m. Saturday, but this time at LaBahn Arena.

“Tomorrow will be really good,” LaMantia said. “Hopefully we can get a couple early and get our feet wet. I think it will be really good for us, especially in that first period, if we come out hard and go back into the locker room up a couple of goals.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin women's hockey falls in front of second-largest NCAA crowd