The Wisconsin women’s hockey team had its struggles in the weekend series, but was resilient and managed to win both games, keeping its unbeaten streak alive after a 3-2 victory over North Dakota Sunday.
UND played great defense for the majority of the series. The Sioux held the Badgers to just three total goals in the first two periods of both games, and North Dakota was relentless with the pressure it put on Wisconsin’s offense.
“They were pressuring us,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “That was probably the most difficult thing. Our kids were probably hanging on the puck a little bit too long.”
“I think towards the end we were just trying to put everything on the net, and maybe in the first two periods we were being a little too fancy with the puck,” forward and captain Hilary Knight said
It’s early in the season, and incoming freshmen are still adapting to a new team. UW also had five players return from Team Canada’s fall training camp to play in their first games with the Badgers this season. These circumstances didn’t help Wisconsin find an offensive rhythm, but it showed it has the talent to overcome tough situations.
Despite slow starts, the Badgers showed great physical and mental toughness that ultimately won them the series.
In Sunday’s game, they managed to stay within a point of UND and gave themselves an opportunity to tie the game on a power play. Assistant captain Brooke Ammerman took advantage of the situation with a rebound goal in front of the net with about a minute left in regulation. The score paved the way for Hilary Knight’s game-winning goal in overtime.
Wisconsin’s toughness in crucial situations showed why they hold the No. 1 ranking in the nation.
“I think it’s just our history of going through adversity and battling and never giving up,” Ammerman said. “I think coach (Johnson) does a great job of instilling in us that it’s never over. We’ve learned that. We’ve been on the bad side and the good side of that as well. They played us very tough, but we were able to get out of it with the win.”
Although not as stressful as on Sunday, the Badgers faced a similar test in Saturday’s game. They were tied at one late into the second period, until forward Carolyne Pr?vost scored to shift the momentum back in Wisconsin’s favor for the remainder of the game. The Badgers scored three more goals in the third period to cruise to a 5-2 victory.
In both games, UW faced moments where its offense stalled for a period of time, but it persevered and found a way to put enough points up to win. The wins against UND are important ones in a tough Western Collegiate Hockey Association conference.
“You’ve got two points in your bank, and we all know in the second half of the season those are tough to come by,” Johnson said. “Certainly, the victory today is very meaningful and certainly will help us with our confidence, but more importantly, it gives us two points that they can’t take away from us.”
Sunday’s win extends Wisconsin’s unbeaten streak to 31 games, which is just one shy of the NCAA record of 32 games set by the Badgers back in 2007.
