[media-credit name=’AJ Maclean’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Since coming to Wisconsin, Badger sophomore goaltender Christine Dufour has had to deal with the dominating presence of fellow goalie Meghan Horras, the WCHA’s top netminder last season.

Dufour has had to play Roy to Horras’ Siegfried, Costello to her Abbott, and Don Drysdale to her Sandy Koufax. Throughout her young career, Dufour always seems to be the second name on the banner, right after Horras.

Dufour’s play, however, certainly merits some credit. She has allowed more than three goals in a game only once, and she has five shutouts to her credit. In her freshman year, Dufour logged 246 saves and a save percentage of .914 in her 16 games in net, numbers that any freshman would be proud of. So far this season, she has a save percentage of .962 while giving up just .76 goals per game.

The two goalies revel in their brewing position battle. They offer each other encouragement and advice during practices and games, and each admits that the high level of play of the other is incentive to go out and match that in every single game.

“Just having her here is naturally going to push both of us no matter what,” said Horras of Dufour. “We see one of us play in a game playing really well, and we have to play up to that.”

Dufour began playing hockey in the United States only three years ago, when she moved from Quebec to Connecticut. She was very successful during her stint in Connecticut, earning All-New England honors twice and winning her team MVP award.

When she came to Wisconsin last season, she still didn’t speak much English. She has learned quickly, according to her teammates, but she is still soft-spoken and speaks with a noticeable accent.

It is Dufour’s play that makes the noise. Like many goalies from Quebec, Dufour plays in the butterfly style similar to that of NHL great Patrick Roy. This style has worked wonders for the UW netminder, as she makes highlight-reel saves each and every game. Her coaches, however, would like to see her hone her game and become a more well-rounded goalie.

“She’s down a lot playing the French style of goalie,” goalkeepers coach Scott Kabotoff said. “But she’s come a long way in the sense that she’s responding to me, doing the things I ask her to do, and trying some stuff out. She’s becoming more mature as a goalie.”

Dufour has come a long way from the nervous rookie who gave up four goals against Maine in her first start. She has turned into a rock between the pipes, exuding a confidence that only grows stronger save after save.

“I don’t really get stressed,” Dufour said. “I’m calm, and I don’t get nervous really easily.”

“She’s certainly more confident than she was in the early part of last year,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “She didn’t know the league (last season), and she didn’t understand the teams we were playing against and some of the shooters. She’s seen everybody at least four times now, so you get a better feel of what the competition’s like.”

The WCHA will also have to get a feel for Dufour, who will be a strong presence in net for the Badgers as long as she’s here. In most games with her in the net, the opposition will have to hold the Badgers to fewer than three goals because they will be hard pressed to put that many behind Dufour.

Having that kind of a stopper in net is a relief for the rest of the Badger squad as well, since they have needed just two or three goals to win games with Dufour in goal. It also relieves a lot of pressure on the defense, knowing that Dufour can erase one of its mistakes with a nice glove save.

“Any time you’ve got a good goaltender, it filters confidence throughout the rest of the team,” Johnson said. “When you make a mistake, you’re in a position where you’ve got somebody that has a real good chance of stopping that breakdown. Not only does she have confidence in her ability, but I think she instills confidence in the other players on the team.”

Dufour, who will be competing with the rest of the Badgers this season for a WCHA title and NCAA bid, and who has already represented Team Canada’s U-22 team, is really concerned with only one thing right now — having fun on the ice.

“I don’t really have a goal right now because I’m trying to get as much ice time as I can and just play my best,” Dufour said.

It’s that kind of shortsightedness that can allow Dufour to forget any bad games she may have, allowing her to take things in stride and continually improve her game. As long as the tandem continues to wear the UW uniform, Dufour and Horras will be the cornerstone of Wisconsin’s success.