[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]For the rest of the Wisconsin student body, spring break had just begun, but for the Wisconsin women’s hockey team, the joy ride finally came to an end. After a team-record 26 wins in the regular season, including a record 20 conference wins, a run at the WCHA Tournament championship and the first NCAA berth in team history, the season came to a halt at the hands of Dartmouth.

After narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament (when the field consisted of only four teams) in years past, Wisconsin broke through that barrier this season. Mark Johnson’s squad proved they belonged with the top programs in college hockey in midseason when they held the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs scoreless for the first time in three years and almost did it twice.

However, the message really didn’t become clear until the WCHA playoffs. Wisconsin was losing to sixth-seeded St. Cloud until it stormed back to win 3-1. The next day the Badgers took the No. 2 UMD Bulldogs to overtime and won 3-2 to advance to the conference championship game for a matchup with the vaunted top-seeded Minnesota Gophers.

Down 2-0 with less than a minute to play in the game, the Badgers, playing their third game in three days, pulled goalie Meghan Horras. With just 50 seconds on the clock, senior defender Carla MacLeod, with only four goals to her name at that point in the season, ripped a slapshot past Minnesota goalie Jody Horak. Less than 30 seconds later, MacLeod took a wrister from almost the same location, just outside the right faceoff circle, that floated again just underneath Horak’s pads.

While the Badgers eventually fell to the Gophers in overtime, the game was a statement against a Minnesota squad that went on to win its second straight national title.

“This is definitely the best team Wisconsin’s seen since I’ve been around,” assistant captain Molly Engstrom said. “Coach did a great job getting good players in over the years. He also recruited that great freshman class last year.”

This year, that freshman class became the strong sophomore class that helped make Wisconsin’s offense one of the best in the country. The team’s 4.47 goals per game ranked second in the country, and led by sophomores Sara Bauer (26-29=55) and Lindsay Macy (19-24=43).

Also emerging this year was freshman standout Jinelle Zaugg. Zaugg scored 26 points on 12 goals and 14 assists, tops on the team for first-year players. Zaugg continually improved as the season wore on, using her 6-foot-1 frame to her advantage.

One aspect that did not surprise anyone this season was the strong Badger goaltending. Wisconsin boasted the previous year’s conference leader in goals against average (1.40) and save percentage (.935) in Meghan Horras, along with Quebec import Christine Dufour. The two traded games back and forth this season until Dufour missed time with a broken leg. Horras then took the reigns, finishing with a 1.66 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Both return next season to anchor the Wisconsin defense.

Understandably, the honors rolled in after UW’s landmark season. Four Badgers earned all-WCHA honors, as Engstrom picked up her second consecutive WCHA Defensive Player of the Year award, along with another first-team all-WCHA honor. MacLeod and Bauer each garnered second-team all-WCHA accolades, and Zaugg picked up an all-conference rookie team honor.

Topping the list, though, were Engstrom and MacLeod, who were each named to the 2005 American Hockey Coaches Association All-American team. For MacLeod it was her second such honor, but the first for Engstrom. Both were also top-10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the most outstanding player in the nation.

For the Badgers, this was a season that will set the bar for the future after earning a spot in the national tournament for the first time. Despite the disappointing finish, the Badgers accomplished more this year than any other in the team’s history.

“It was definitely disappointing, that loss to Dartmouth,” said Engstrom. “But we have a lot to be proud about, and we made a lot of great strides.”