North Dakota comes to the Kohl Center following a 13-19-4 season in 2008-09. Sophomore forward Alyssa Wiebe is the Fighting Sioux’s top returning scorer after posting 28 points a year ago. Kyla Sanders sees North Dakota as an emerging force in the WCHA and, like many other conference foes, a much-improved program.
“I think UND gets better every year — every team just keeps getting better,” Sanders said of the nation’s elite conference. “The WCHA is just such a competitive league, so I think every team is going to just keep getting better.”
In a move that changed the power structure of WCHA and reaffirmed Sanders’ belief of an ever-narrowing gap between the WCHA’s perennial powerhouses and bottom-dwellers, twin sisters and star sophomore forwards Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux transferred from the University of Minnesota back home to North Dakota. Fortunately for the Badgers, however, the Lamoureux sisters will not be playing for the Sioux this season but instead for legendary former UW women’s hockey coach Mark Johnson and Team USA during the Olympics.
Nonetheless, Wisconsin head coach Tracey DeKeyser sees North Dakota as an embodiment of the WCHA’s move toward becoming less top-heavy.
“I think we will see a lot of parity. Over the years, the WCHA has seen the amount of parity and each team’s depth improve,” DeKeyser said. “So, I think it is going to be an exciting year, I think there’s going to be a lot of close games and a lot of overtimes probably. Hopefully, not this weekend, but I’m excited for what should be a great year for the league.”
The catalyst for the Badgers’ offseason remodeling project was the departure of a prodigious senior class and the one-year hiatus of Johnson and forwards Hilary Knight and Meggan Duggan to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Johnson will be head coach for Team USA this February, while Knight and Duggan join 2009 Wisconsin teammates Jessie Vetter, Angie Keseley and Erika Lawler in the quest for a gold medal.
Substantial losses in leadership, scoring and goaltending shouldn’t create any lesser expectations for the 2009-10 season; however, as the Badgers return an abundance of talent that — when paired with another stalwart class of freshmen — should give interim coach DeKeyser another team capable of repeating as national champs. DeKeyser, who has been with the program as an assistant for 11 years, expects plenty of challenges for the young Badgers, most relating to the team finding an early identity and team chemistry.
“I think there are going to be challenges, not just this weekend but any weekend.” DeKeyser said. “I think problem-solving is one of them and becoming a team, working on cohesiveness and problem-solving through the hurdles and challenges [of a hockey season].”
At the forefront of the returning core from 2008-09 are forwards Brooke Ammerman, Jasmine Giles, Mallory Deluce, Carolyn Prevost and Sanders. These five forwards, all of whom can play either wing or center and scored 25-plus points last season, give DeKeyser two experience-laden top lines. Junior Kelly Nash, who dazzled as a regular on the Badgers’ power-play unit last year, will likely fill in as the last top-six forward.
Freshman Brianna Decker — voted the preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year — will pivot the third line. Joining her on the wings will likely be senior Emily Kranz and junior Maria Evans. Freshmen Breann Frykas, Lauren Unser and Derya Kelter also could ascend the depth chart with strong early season performances, but will likely start the year on the Badgers’ fourth unit.
On the blue line, the Badgers return juniors Malee Windmeier, Anne Dronen and Olivia Jakiel, as well as swift sophomore Brittany Haverstock. Freshmen joining the Wisconsin defensive corps are Saige Pacholok, Stephanie McKeough and Alev Kelter, who is the twin sister of freshman forward Derya. The Kelter sisters, who hail from Eagle River, Alaska, will miss the first month of the season as they are also members of the UW women’s soccer team.
Faced with the daunting task of replacing 2008-09 goaltender Jessie Vetter are senior Alannah McCready, sophomore Nikki Kaasa and freshman Becca Ruegsegger. A starter has yet to be named, but early indications suggest it will a close battle between McCready and Ruegsegger.
Sanders, who played with Vetter the last three seasons, admitted that Vetter will be sorely missed but insisted the three goalies currently on the roster will do everything possible to fill the void between the nets.
“[Vetter] was a backbone for our team for the last four years,” Sanders said. “But we have Alanah McCready, who has been working really hard for the past three years, and Kaasa and Becca who have also been working really hard. So, the goalie spot is open — we just have to see who takes it.”
