The date was Feb. 4, 2006, and the Wisconsin women's hockey team was riding a 13-game winning streak. That day, the Badgers dominated St. Cloud State, out shooting the Huskies 36-12. Unfortunately for UW, not one of the 36 shots found the back of the net, and the Badgers lost 1-0.
"We played very well that day, we just ran into a hot goaltender and we could not put the puck passed her," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "We left the building disappointed, but I told the team after the game to hold their heads up high because we did a lot of good things that day."
Both Wisconsin and St. Cloud swept their respective first round playoff series and the two teams will meet in the WCHA semifinals Saturday.
It's no secret that at any level of hockey a hot goaltender can carry you all the way to the promised land. Johnson has been around his fair share of big games, and he looks at the goaltending matchup as being a key element in Saturday's affair.
"When you get to the playoffs, goaltenders can certainly win and lose you games," Johnson said. "Both us and St. Cloud have received quality goaltending for some time now, and when your goalies are playing well, it filters the confidence out to the defenders and forwards."
Lauri St. Jacques is a junior haling from Sturgeon Fall, Ontario, and she handles most of the goaltending duties for the Huskies. While she currently holds a modest season record of 12-12, she boasts a 2.32 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Since her regular season victory against UW, she has won six of her last nine starts.
Similarly, UW enters Saturday's matchups with two red-hot goaltenders of their own. Freshman Jessie Vetter and senior Meghan Horras have split the goaltending duties as of late, and both recorded a victory in UW's first round sweep of North Dakota. Together, the tag-team has a 1.33 GAA and a .932 cumulative save percentage. While Johnson will not name Saturday's starter until Friday, the team is confident with whoever will stand between the pipes.
"The team is confident in all of our goalies," junior defender Meagan Mikkelson said. "They're all great when they're on their game, and no matter who is in net Saturday, I'm sure they'll do a great job."
Goaltending is one key element in Saturday's game, and according to Johnson, the special teams will tell the rest of the story.
"This time of year, you got to look at special teams, whose power play is going to work and whose power play is going to score goals and whose penalty kill is going to do the job," Johnson said. "Those three elements between your power play penalty kill and goaltending … if we're better in those areas, we'll win the game Saturday."
The Badgers' power play has been a work-in-progress all season long but has recently come together. The Badgers have a conversion percentage of .193 and have notched three power play goals in their last three games. The offensive juggernaut of team captain Sharon Cole, Sara Bauer and Jinelle Zaugg will be asked to make considerable contributions on the power play.
"Our power play has been up and down this year, but if we want to win, we need to open things up, get quality chances and score goals on the power play," Cole said.
The Huskies have a slight edge in conversion percentage as they have converted on 21 percent of their power plays. However, the Badgers have surrendered only 19 power play goals compared to the Huskies 28.
With the memory of their last meeting still lingering in the minds of players and coaches, expect both teams to come out fired up and ready to go for Saturday's game. The Badgers are looking for revenge, but St. Cloud will be playing with immense confidence, as they are only one of four teams to draw blood from UW this season.
"This is one of the weekends we've been waiting for," Mikkelson said. "This is a must win game, and all the girls are so pumped about it, and we're not worrying about their confidence because we know that if we come to play, we'll be successful."
