Wisconsin Takes 4-OT NCAA Thriller Against Harvard, 1-0

MADISON, Wis. -- Jinelle Zaugg's one-timer from the right circle in the fourth overtime period ended the second-longest Division I women's college hockey game in history and lifted top-ranked Wisconsin to a 1-0 win in an epic battle against No. 6 Harvard in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night at the Kohl Center.

Harvard sophomore goaltender Brittany Martin tied the Crimson's school record by stopping the first 67 shots she saw until Zaugg took a feed from All-America Sara Bauer and slapped it to the top left corner after 127 minutes, nine seconds of hockey.

The win for Wisconsin sends the Badgers to a Frozen Four matchup against St. Lawrence, while Boston College and Minnesota-Duluth meet in the other semifinal next Friday in Lake Placid, N.Y. It was Wisconsin's 10th straight win and the Badgers' 24th straight game without a loss.

The game shaped up as a matchup of Harvard's offense - which was ranked second nationally in scoring - and Wisconsin's defense, which had averaged fewer than one goal allowed per game coming in. It became clear early, however, that offense would be scarce Saturday as Martin and Badger goaltender Jessie Vetter were sharp throughout.

"The fans certainly got their money's worth," said Harvard head coach Katey Stone. "It was a good up-and-down hockey game and there was great goaltending on both sides."

Harvard was outshot by a 22-7 margin through two periods, though the Crimson did have two excellent chances to get on the board. Vetter denied Jenny Brine's partial breakaway near the four-minute mark, and she turned aside Sarah Vaillancourt's end-to-end rush at the 13-minute mark after Vaillancourt made a terrific individual effort to thwart a Wisconsin breakaway.

Vetter turned aside Katie Johnston's bid early in the third period, as the Crimson showed its best stretch of hockey in the first six minutes of the frame. But Martin continued to steal the show as she made 12 third-period stops, including a spectacular glove save on Zaugg's bid with 2:10 left in regulation.

The Badgers thought they had the game-winner midway through the first overtime period when the puck ended up past Martin following a scrum in front. But the official had ruled play dead when Martin froze the pluck on the initial flurry.

The Crimson was able to find some holes in the Badger forecheck through the second and third OT periods, with Harvard gaining three two-on-one chances in the third OT. But Vetter was able to hold her ground on two of the plays, and a Badger defender was able to break up the third to preserve the deadlock.

Martin, meanwhile, continued to stop everything that came her way through the first 120 minutes. She had 36 saves through the end of regulation and made 31 through 67 minutes of overtime. Her total ties Cheryl Tate '84, who had 67 stops in a 3-2 win against Northeastern Feb. 12, 1982 in the championship game of the Beanpot tournament.

The game-winner came four hours and 35 minutes after the opening faceoff as Alycia Matthews gained the puck on a forecheck in the Harvard zone and sent it to Bauer at the point. Bauer made a quick pass to the right faceoff circle for Zaugg's 26th goal of the season.

The win for Wisconsin improved the Badgers to 34-1-4 on the year, and it marked the second straight year in which Wisconsin won an overtime game in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Badgers were 2-1 double-OT winners against Mercyhurst last year on their way to the NCAA title.

Harvard's season came to an end as the Crimson finished 23-8-2 on the year. The loss gave the Crimson its only back-to-back setbacks of the 2006-07 season, and it ended Harvard's streak of 39 consecutive games with at least one goal.

The game also brought an abrupt end to five Harvard seniors, including All-America forward Julie Chu, who finishes her career with 88 goals, 196 assists and 284 points, good for third on the Crimson's all-time scoring chart.

"Maybe in a few weeks or months, this game will be near the top," Chu said when asked where Saturday's game ranked among her most memorable contests. "But tonight it stings a little bit, because I love Harvard hockey. But I suppose if you're going to play your final game, you might as well make it two games plus."

NOTES:
The attendance for Saturday's game was 5,125, marking the second-largest crowd to watch a women's college hockey game. The largest crowd in history was the 5,167 who were on hand for the 2003 NCAA championship game between Harvard and Minnesota-Duluth in Duluth, Minn. ... Including the Harvard-Wisconsin game, three of the four NCAA regional games were decided in extra periods ... It was Harvard's second game this season to go to multiple overtimes - the Crimson and Boston College played to three OTs in the first round of the 2007 Beanpot tournament ... At 127:09, the game was the second-longest women's game in NCAA Division I history, and it gave Harvard the distinction of having played in four of the five longest contests - two of which came this season ... It was Harvard's second multiple-overtime game in its NCAA tournament history, after the Crimson's triple-OT win against Mercyhurst in the first round of the 2004 tournament ... The game was so long that a dilemma came about when the standard computer software used to track statistics for both teams was unable to accommodate seven periods of play. The software will likely have to be reconfigured to accurately record Saturday's game ... Harvard was making its sixth NCAA tournament appearance and its fifth straight showing in the national bracket.