H 84°, L 66° | Tomorrow: 
H 85°, L 69°
It’s hard to quantify everything Meghan Duggan does. Her stats speak for themselves, as she leads the WCHA in points with 66 and assists with 36, but numbers only scratch the surface of her game.
“She’s a very smart player, and I think it shows continuously out there. She’s also quick and has a great shot, so those three things combined definitely make her a complete player,” sophomore center Brianna Decker said.
Duggan’s well-rounded game was on full display Friday night
during Wisconsin’s 5-0 thrashing of WCHA foe North Dakota. Like most games throughout the season and her
career, the senior winger appeared to be everywhere at once.
Period One
1st: After the faceoff win, Duggan breaks hard to the net but doesn’t receive the puck. When the Badgers turn the puck over, Duggan back-checks to break up the North Dakota scoring opportunity.
2nd: While on the attack, Duggan sets up a scoring chance by screening the goaltender and deflecting a shot that just barely misses the net.
3rd: Right off the bench, Duggan back-checks to the defensive zone and clears the puck. Once the Badgers are on offense she sneaks into the slot, receives a pass and takes a hard shot for another good scoring opportunity.
4th: On the power play, Decker finds Duggan creeping to the far post with a pass and Duggan slaps it past the netminder for her first goal of the game.
5th: After an unsuccessful offensive set, Duggan forechecks North Dakota’s defensive zone alone and keeps the puck in their end, giving her team ample time to make the change.
6th: Duggan storms on the ice, tracks down the puck in the neutral zone, dumps it in on offense and creates another scoring opportunity for the Badgers.
9th: Duggan corrals the puck in her own end and snaps a pass down the ice to a streaking Decker who has a one-on-one with the goaltender, but loses the puck before she can get off a shot.
Period Two
1st: Duggan pops into the slot, receives a shot from Brooke Ammerman from the corner and fires a slap shot past the glove of the North Dakota netminder for her second goal, bolstering the lead to 4-0.
3rd: After a long shift by Duggan, the Badgers take a penalty and have to kill it without her for the first minute. They struggle to get the puck out of the zone, but Duggan comes in and clears the puck as soon as she’s on the ice.
5th: During a four on four, Duggan sneaks to the back post again, receives a pass and wrists a shot that, this time, the goaltender saves.
7th: Duggan facilitates two good scoring opportunities — one by winning a neutral zone battle and finding a streaking Badger for the shot on net.
Period Three
2nd: In the slot, Duggan gets the puck caught on her backhand with a defender blocking her path to the net. She gets the puck again in the offensive zone, zips it to Ammerman at the far post for a great scoring opportunity, though the Badgers aren’t able to cash in.
3rd: Duggan sets up in front of the goaltender as the puck is shot on net; the rebound comes back out, and Duggan is there to turn around and slide the puck in for the hat trick.
“If you’re willing to go in there and create a screen or look for rebounds, generally you’re going to be rewarded,” head coach Mark Johnson said.
5th: On the power play, Duggan sends a saucer pass across the ice to Stefanie McKeough, who rips a shot the North Dakota netminder is able to glove.
6th: On the penalty kill, Duggan clears the puck and forechecks with Decker, erasing a large portion of the two-minute minor.
7th: On another power play, Duggan sneaks in front the net following a shot. If the goaltender yields a rebound, Duggan scores her fourth of the game.
8th: On her last shift of the night, Duggan streaks hard to the net hoping to receive a pass to deflect or a rebound that she can put away for yet another goal.
The effort is a great example of how Duggan has played night in and night out throughout her career.
Yet, in common fashion, Duggan quickly deflected the credit for her success.
“With the two linemates I had today, moving the puck and feeding me in that slot, you couldn’t ask for anything better,” Duggan said. “I put myself in the right position, and they got me the puck. It worked out well.”
