Too often in today’s sports world, great performances, games and careers are met with a whirlwind of hyperbole. In the case of Wisconsin women’s hockey senior goalie Jessie Vetter, however, every superlative has been earned.
Last weekend, Vetter put the finishing touches on arguably the most successful women’s college hockey career in history with her third national title in four seasons, as well as taking home the Patty Kazmaier Award, given annually to the most outstanding women’s hockey player.
In winning the Kazmaier, Vetter became both the second Badger and second goaltender to receive the honor. She joins former UW standout Sara Bauer, who won in 2006, and Racine, Wis., native Ali Brewer, who merited the distinction in 2000 while tending goal for Brown University.
Vetter said looking back at the history of the award put in perspective what winning meant.
“Just watching the video when at the Patty Kazmaier brunch, seeing all the past winners — they’re Olympians, they’re All-Americans,” Vetter said. “They’re just amazing athletes, incredible people. Just being among them is a great honor.”
Junior forward and teammate Meghan Duggan said the rest of the team was just as nervous as Vetter as they waited for the announcement.
“We’re all sitting there, crossing our fingers under the table and looking down,” said Duggan, who set a new UW record for playoff points after tallying five on the weekend. “But as soon as the guy said, ‘This year’s Patty Kazmaier Award goes to,’ and he said, ‘a goaltender,’ we heard goaltender and we just went crazy. Obviously, that’s just a tremendous, tremendous award to get, and she deserves every bit of it.”
Besides the three national titles and a Patty Kazmaier trophy to her name, Vetter’s near omnipresence in Wisconsin goaltending records captures her sustained excellence. She hangs up her Badger sweater with NCAA records in victories (91) and shutouts (39, nine better than her closest follower). And among Badger netminders, she ranks second in games played, goals against average, save percentage, saves and minutes played.
In this year’s championship game versus Mercyhurst College, Vetter tied a career high with 37 saves, giving her 65 stops out of 66 tries for the Frozen Four. Although her performance was remarkable, Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said he has learned to expect nothing less.
“We sort of get used to her because we’ve seen her on a regular basis,” Johnson, who will be taking off next season to coach the women’s Olympic team, said. “But I think the people in Boston, especially [on Sunday], saw what she’s done for us for four years. When we bend a little bit, she’s right there. Very comfortable, very confident — the more pressure, the more relaxed she gets.”
According to Johnson, it was a different matchup versus Mercyhurst in 2005-06 when he knew Vetter was a unique talent. Only a freshman, Vetter led the Badgers to their first Frozen Four appearance, stopping 37 of 38 shots in a 2-1 double-overtime win.
“She’s playing in front of her home crowd, her family, it’s our first home game during that stuff — I mean there’s a lot of pressure, and now you’re the goaltender,” Johnson said. “If you watched the game, you wouldn’t have even thought about it. You would have thought it was just another Saturday afternoon pickup game and she was going to shut out a men’s team.”
That year, Vetter was named Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player — the first freshman and netminder to do so — after recording the first two shutouts in Frozen Four history. Since then, Vetter and her classmates have played in three more title games, finishing their careers with an incredible 135-16-12 record.
“We’ve been a part of a lot of great teams,” said Vetter, who won her second Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Award on Sunday. “You know the players before us and the ones that are still on our team underneath us are great players. We’ve definitely done a good job here. We’ve played every game we can and that’s pretty cool.”
Although it’s merely an afterthought considering the achievements she has to her name now, five years ago Vetter redshirted and watched as Wisconsin lost to Dartmouth in the quarterfinals of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. While the waiting was difficult after a high school career that included being named a finalist for Miss Hockey Wisconsin and three all-state selections as a soccer goalie, Vetter said in retrospect it was the right move.
“Freshman year, I wanted to redshirt, but I didn’t want to redshirt because that’s a long year of not playing,” she said. “But when I look back on it, that was one of the best decisions I could have done. These four years have been pretty incredible and something I’ll always remember.”
As will the rest of the women’s college hockey world, which will be happy to see a number other than 30 blocking the Badger net next season. While it is for others to discuss where the run made by this year’s seniors ranks, to Johnson, it’s clear who deserves credit first.
“In our world — in the hockey business — it starts from the goal out,” he said. “You see teams that win championships are usually talking about their goaltenders. On the women’s side, she’s got to be right there at the top. I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who can duplicate what she’s done.”
Looking over her career accomplishments, none of that seems hyperbolic.
