Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Leaders emerging for UW

Coming off a weekend series involving a 4-3 comeback victory over Dartmouth and a hard-fought 2-1 loss against New Hampshire, the Wisconsin women's hockey team is still playing with confidence. Much of that confidence comes from emerging leaders such as Meaghan Mikkelson and Jinelle Zaugg.

Mikkelson, a junior defender, suffered a separated shoulder against Vermont earlier this season when she was checked into the boards. Having missed the following two series against Minnesota State and North Dakota, Mikkelson has played in just 10 games.

"The toughest thing [about being injured] is not being in the dressing room for games and not being on the ice for practice," Mikkelson said. "Individually, there's the conditioning aspect of it, where you work so hard the first couple of weeks. Then you get injured and fall back, then you have to try to get all of that back while trying to be a part of the team."

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In the 10 games she's played, Mikkelson has yet to tally a goal, but has pitched in 15 assists, which is good for third on the team behind assistant captain Sara Bauer and junior defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar, both of whom have sixteen assists.

Mikkelson added three assists in the Badgers' 4-3 victory on Saturday, her second three-assist effort of this season.

After starting the season as a forward, she has recently switched to defender. This change of position has been a major factor in Mikkelson's production this season.

"Well it's a new position for her," head coach Mark Johnson said. "We gave her that opportunity … to play defense. We needed some help back there, and she's played well and done well on the powerplay. I think she'll continue to get better."

When the team needed some players to step up and change positions to fill gaps in the lineup, Mikkelson offered to give it a shot.

"We talked about [switching positions] last spring," Johnson said. "We had some kids who weren't coming back and we had some holes we needed to fill. But [Mikkelson's] dad was a defenseman and her brother was a second-round pick in the NHL draft by Anaheim as a defenseman. So lets try something fresh and see how we do. And so far, so good."

Zaugg, a sophomore forward, has provided a real scoring spark lately for the Badgers. She scored three of the five Badger goals last weekend.

The Eagle River, Wis. native also leads the team in goals with 13, good for a second-place tie in the WCHA. Zaugg also has six assists, placing her among the top 10 scorers in the league.

"I don't think it matters who puts the puck in the net," Zaugg said. "My line has been working real well together, and the combination of Bauer and Cole has been able to help me be successful scoring. But also it's the team working together. It doesn't matter who scores, it's about just making opportunities."

"She's been scoring goals and she had a good rookie season and was able to score some goals last year," Johnson said. "She has the opportunity to be playing out there with [Bauer] and [team captain] Sharon Cole, and fill the void that [graduate Lindsay Macy] left. She's creating opportunities and making the most of those. Hopefully [the puck] will keep going in for her."

Both Mikkelson and Zaugg deserve credit for the Badgers early-season success. They have both stepped up to fill gaps in the UW lineup, and have done so effectively.

Thank contributions of players such as Mikkelson and Zaugg, the team is heading into this weekend with confidence that they will not be starting a losing streak.

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