Sports

Secret’s out on sophomore

Meghan Duggan used all the tools you could ask for from a freshman last season as a member of the national championship winning UW women's hockey team. With 26 goals and 26 assists on the year, her 52 points established her reputation as a player who could make an impact all over the ice. This year, she had another full arsenal at her disposal as she took the ice again for the two-time defending champions, but one of her greatest assets, the element of surprise, is no longer available to her.

"Everybody knows about her," head coach Mark Johnson said. "She's not sneaking up on anybody anymore."

Certainly, Duggan's 52-point freshman season did not go overlooked, as the forward netted the prestigious honor of being named WCHA Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the all-conference second team despite it being only her first season in the conference.

"After you've been through a season like we had last year," Johnson said, "you're going to have teams saying, 'What do we have to do to stop Wisconsin and keep them off the board?' and certainly her name is now going to be one that pops right up off the page."

For the Danvers, Mass., native, the chance to play for a defending national champion last season provided the opportunity for her to get experience skating with some of the best collegiate hockey players in the country.

"Coming in, I was just expecting to learn a lot from these other girls and play for a team that was really great already," Duggan said. "To be able to play for a big time program like this and have the kind of success we had last year was just an amazing experience."

Having a freshman player able to step in and influence a program is an asset to any team, especially when she can catch opponents by surprise. It didn't take long, however, before Duggan was very much on the radars of the rest of the conference, as evidenced by her three consecutive WCHA Rookie of the Week honors as well as her combined five WCHA weekly honors, the first Badger ever to accomplish such feats.

Coming into the 2007-08 season, it is easy to see why the sophomore's numbers might be a little down. With all the attention being paid to her, the respect her opponents are giving her as a scoring threat is extremely evident. The trick for Duggan is learning how to respond to the added pressure, but Johnson has confidence the sophomore will be able to adjust her game.

"People are going to be keying in more to her," Johnson said. "They know her moves, how she plays. The challenge is out there for her to become better, and I think she has risen to it."

Luckily for Duggan, this transition has taken place in very good company, as she currently shares a line with her best friend since freshman year in high school, junior forward Erika Lawler. Duggan and Lawyer, roommates since their days at Cushing Academy, have continued their chemistry in Madison and beyond, as both of them traveled as part of the USA U-22 national team this past year to play in tournaments as far away as Sweden.

"We've always been very comfortable around each other on and off the ice. But this year, I've served as a kind of 'taste of home' for her as well, and I think because of that, she's become more comfortable with the rest of the players on the team," Lawler said of her friend and teammate.

Duggan's still trying to become comfortable in her new role though. Through 16 games the forward has more than twice as many assists (9) as goals (4), a much different look than last year's 26 and 26 effort. Lawler, however, believes Duggan's growth can't be measured in numbers.

"From last year to this year, I think she's the same great player," Lawler said. "Just because she isn't getting quite as many goals and assists doesn't mean she isn't influencing the game. She's an outstanding forward and the kind of player just sticks out whenever she's out there on the ice."

Though sticking out may be what's gotten her so much more attention from opponents, Duggan isn't planning on altering her play.

"I'm not going to change my game," Duggan said. "I'm just going to expand it."