For every series the No. 3 Wisconsin women's hockey team has played this season, there have always been questions, some nagging doubts as to how well the Badgers can perform. And every series, the Badgers answered those questions with victories.
This past weekend, the question was whether the Badgers could defeat long time conference rival and WCHA powerhouse Minnesota. Coming into the series with a deplorable 4-23-2 record against the Golden Gophers, one had to wonder if the Badgers would fall short again.
The Badgers responded with a convincing sweep on the road, the first time Wisconsin had ever swept Minnesota. It was also the third time the Golden Gophers had been swept at home. The Badgers shutout the Gophers 2-0 Friday evening and won by a score of
6-2 Saturday evening.
Wisconsin is now 11-1 on the season and is one of the most dominating teams in its conference.
With a prolific offense and a stifling defense, there are few questions about Wisconsin being an elite team. The Badgers have shown that their success is not a fluke. And there are no obvious holes in what seems to be a very well rounded team.
Veteran players such as Sharon Cole, Sara Bauer, Bobbi-Jo Slusar and Jinelle Zaugg continue to provide plenty of offense. However, there had been a question of forward Nikki Burish. Going into the series against Minnesota with just two assists, there was the question of why Burish was in a scoring slump.
"You look at statistics and say 'what kind of year is she having?'" head coach Mark Johnson said prior to the series against Minnesota. "But you look at face-offs, you look at penalty killing, you look at plus minus and how she's playing in a lot of key situations … late in games and late in periods. [Burish] has done a lot of good things."
"She's getting a lot of chances, unfortunately the puck is hitting the goaltender, missing the net or hitting the post," Johnson continued. "When you look at [the Nov. 9 game against Minnesota State], she probably could have had four or five goals just in that game. Hopefully, she can get on a bit of a hot streak. I think she's playing pretty well."
Burish answered the question of her scoring drought early in the first period during Saturday's game, giving her a goal and two assists.
Key freshman such as Erica Lawler, Angie Keseley and Tia Hanson are also doing well to contribute to the offense. The three are among the top seven freshman point scorers this season, with Keseley leading the way with six goals and six assists.
I just go out there every shift and work as hard as I can and see what I can do," Lawler said of adjusting to college hockey. "Whatever happens, happens. I try not to think about things too much, I just try to be aggressive."
The Badgers will face Dartmouth and New Hampshire this weekend at the Dartmouth Tournament in Hanover, N.H. Both teams are undefeated against Wisconsin.
Dartmouth is 3-0 against the Badgers while New Hampshire holds a record of 3-0-1 against the Badgers.
Dartmouth is 4-4 this season and has accumulated 17 goals and allowed 18 goals in all eight games. The Dartmouth Big Green is lead on offense by Shannon Bowman, Danielle Grundy and Tiffany Hagge, who have nine, nine and eight points, respectively.
The New Hampshire Wildcats' offense is lead by Nicole Hekle, who was named as Hockey East's offensive player of the week. She has five goals and 10 assists on the season, and had a hat trick against Northeastern this weekend. The Wildcats have scored 44 goals in just nine games this season and hold a record of 7-2.
