The Wisconsin women’s hockey team (4-0) faces the rival Minnesota Gophers (4-0) this Friday and Saturday in one of its toughest series of the season.
North Dakota gave the Badgers a scare last weekend in two hard fought games, but head coach Mark Johnson and his team will use those games to prepare for the border battle this weekend.
“I thought Sunday’s game against North Dakota, we did a much better job than Saturday’s,” Johnson said. “Saturday was really our first game with all of our players, and it was very loose, so we have to play a tight game and really manage the puck to keep [Minnesota] off the scoreboard.”
The Gophers have three very talented sophomore forwards in Kelly Terry, Sara Davis and Amanda Kessel. Kessel, a Madison native, leads Minnesota with seven goals through just four games. Minnesota’s speedy forwards will provide a difficult test for the Badgers on the ice.
“[The Gophers] use their speed really well,” defenseman Stefanie McKeough said. “They’re strong with the puck. They all can control the puck and score. We brought it up on defense: I think no matter who’s out there, we have confidence we’ll be able to trust our teammates to do their job, so you can focus on your own job.”
Offensively, the Badgers will look to get a lot of production out of their captain Hilary Knight. Knight is already the all-time leading goal scorer in Wisconsin women’s hockey history, and she’s off to another great season with six goals in the team’s first four games.
As a senior, she knows how competitive the Badgers’ rivalry is with the Gophers. The last time the teams faced off was in March when UW won, 5-4, in an overtime thriller in the WCHA title game.
“The rivalry is intense and it’s friendly, so it’s always fun to go out there and play a good team,” Knight said. “I guess the biggest thing for the freshmen is to relax and have fun and to know that you’ve got 20 other girls supporting you.”
McKeough knows the rivalry will be even more intense because Minnesota will want to avenge its loss from the WCHA final.
“That Minnesota-Wisconsin rivalry has always been big, especially with the WCHA final last year,” McKeough said. “I think it’s in their heads and in the heads of the people on our team last year. They’re going to come out fighting, and I think that’s going to give them a little more of a chip on their shoulder.”
“Being in our home building, we just need to get on them early and make sure our crowd stays in it.”
Last weekend against North Dakota the Badgers struggled with turnovers, which played a factor in the team’s slow starts. Sixth-ranked North Dakota was a very worthy opponent and deserves credit for its physical and aggressive defensive play, but the Badgers know they need to improve on controlling the puck against Minnesota. Johnson emphasized the importance of minimizing turnovers this weekend.
“The big thing with this group is you have to manage the puck; you can’t have turnovers,” Johnson said. “At the end of the night, if you don’t turn the puck over at certain areas on the ice, you manage the puck and take care of it, it eliminates the offensive chances for the other team.”
Johnson embraces the challenges that Minnesota will present to his team. There’s always room for improvement, and he’s looking at this weekend’s series as another opportunity for his squad to grow while facing top national competition.
“For our young players, it’s great experience,” Johnson said. “I can’t duplicate that kind of atmosphere in practice, so it’s a growing opportunity for us and we’re looking forward to the challenges that this weekend will present to us.”
