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With two victories over St. Cloud State this weekend, the No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team closed out its 2008 schedule unbeaten, as goaltender Jessie Vetter added yet another record to her r?sum?.

Earning wins in both games, Vetter tied the school record for most career victories with 75. She joins original Badger goaltender Jackie MacMillan as the winningest Badger netminder ever. Vetter also added to her NCAA career shutout record on Friday, extending her total to 33.

As for the team’s performance in their last series before the holiday break, coach Mark Johnson gave credit to the players.

“You know, you compliment the players,” Johnson said. “They committed themselves last spring. They trained hard over the summer. They put themselves in a position to get off to a good start, and they just kept that momentum building.”

The team continued its offensive dominance, posting 7-0 and 6-2 victories, respectively. For the weekend, the Badgers outshot the Huskies 83 to 21.

On Saturday afternoon, the Badgers got off to a quick start, lighting the lamp twice in the first seven minutes. Senior forward Angie Keseley started the scoring, deflecting a shot on the power play for her 11th of the year. Senior center Erika Lawler and junior forward Meghan Duggan were credited with the assists.

Just over three-and-a-half minutes later, Lawler stretched the Badger lead on a quite unusual unassisted shorthanded goal. Lawler cleared the puck from the defensive zone and began skating off the ice for a line change. Unbeknownst to her, the Husky goaltender misplayed the puck and allowed it to slip past her for Lawler’s ninth of the season.

“I wasn’t even on the ice because I had dumped it,” Lawler said. “And all of a sudden I look out, and there was a goal, and I just assume someone on the ice would’ve gotten it. It was just one of those fluky goals that none of us even know who scored.”

After SCSU scored to cut the deficit in half, sophomore defenseman Anne Dronen gave the Badgers some breathing room on her first goal of the year early in the second period.

“Keseley kind of fell, and it squirted out to me,” Dronen said of her goal. “I was going to take a wrist shot, and I saw that I had a little more time so I took a slap shot. I was a little afraid it was going to nip Knighter in the butt.”

Dronen’s goal was the first of the season for a Badger defender. Keseley and freshman defenseman Brittany Haverstock registered the assists.

Just when it was looking like SCSU might hang around, prolific forwards Hilary Knight and Brooke Ammerman scored within 22 seconds of each other in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the third to deflate the visiting Huskies.

Ammerman converted the rebound off of a shot from Haverstock for her 20th goal in as many games. Haverstock and fellow freshman Carolyne Prevost notched assists.

Then, on assists from her linemates Lawler and Keseley, Knight recorded her national best 22nd goal of the year to make it 5-1.

After another SCSU score, junior forward Jasmine Giles concluded the scoring with her seventh of the year on helpers from Lawler and Knight. The assists were the 23rd of the year for Lawler and 17th for Knight.

Lawler said after finishing out the 2008 slate unbeaten that the team was satisfied with where they stand and are looking forward to the time off.

“It’s a tremendous thing that we have the best record in program history,” she said. “I think that we’re all really proud of ourselves because we worked for it, and we earned it. I think this break’s going to be a good thing. The season gets long, especially the second half. Hopefully when we get back we’ll come ready.”

On Friday afternoon, the Badgers began the game slowly then barraged the Huskies with four second-period goals.

Freshman forward Prevost initiated the scoring with a rebound goal five minutes into the second for her 9th of the season. Knight and Ammerman got the assists.

Just over a minute later, Giles put Wisconsin up 2-0 on a shot from in front of the crease. Freshmen Haverstock and Ammerman registered the assists.

Before the second period was over, Duggan and Knight found the net to give the Badgers a commanding 4-0 lead. Then in the third, Ammerman scored twice, and sophomore forward Kelly Nash added her fifth of the season.

In addition to adding another shutout to her record, Vetter was credited with her first assist of the season on Knight’s second-period power play goal.

“I joked to my team that I only pass to people that are going to have a chance to score and go end to end,” Vetter said of the play. “But it was a good play just getting it up there. I realized they were changing, so it just happened to be that it ended up on Knighter’s stick, and good things happen when she takes the shot.”

With 14 games remaining, it is likely Vetter will shatter MacMillan’s career victory record. After the series, everyone sung the senior assistant captain’s praises.

“She’s been a stone wall back there,” Johnson said. “When we have breakdowns or when the other team creates opportunities, she seems very comfortable, very confident.”

“She’s definitely the backbone of our team,” Lawler added. “We have so much confidence down with her in the defensive zone. She’s not just a great goalie but a great leader on the team. Her hard work really motivates me and other people to do her job. And she does hers above and beyond what anyone would expect.”

The Badgers are off for finals and the holidays until Jan. 9, when they resume their season at Minnesota-Duluth. They also have a scrimmage against the U.S. National Team scheduled Jan. 2.