The Wisconsin women’s hockey team continues to surge, as the Badgers capped off an undefeated month of November with a sweep over the St. Cloud State Huskies this weekend.
St. Cloud (1-11-2) was already having a dismal season, and its weekend efforts at the Kohl Center surely didn’t lift the Huskies’ spirits.
The Badgers got off to a hot start Sunday with three first-period goals. St. Cloud forward Alex Nelson managed to slip the puck between UW goaltender Alex Rigsby’s legs for a goal with about five minutes remaining in the second period, but it was ultimately one of the few highlights for the Huskies.
Wisconsin quickly responded with two late second-period goals and finished things off with a Hilary Knight goal early in the third period en route to a 6-1 victory.
Wisconsin controlled the puck for the majority of both games, which resulted in the Badgers outshooting the Huskies 86-31 for shots on goal on the weekend. Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson has stressed the importance of creating opportunities to score all season, which clearly paid off in the St. Cloud series.
“I thought we did a pretty good job Friday of creating opportunities,” Johnson said. “Again, [I] thought we created a lot of opportunities, especially in the second period. [St. Cloud’s] goaltender played well and made some pretty incredible saves, but the kids were going hard to the net, and you do that over a course of time and you get rewarded.”
The Badgers didn’t lose a step on either side of the puck after losing forward Carolyne Pr?vost to a leg injury Friday afternoon. Pr?vost’s status is unknown, but the Badgers needed lesser-known players to make an impact in her absence.
“She brings a lot of energy to the team,” freshman forward Katy Josephs said. “She’s so quick, she’s always going, so I think that everybody kind of felt the need to give a little more.”
Josephs was one of many younger players who stepped up in Pr?vost’s absence. She scored Wisconsin’s third goal in Sunday’s game and has been a key part of the team’s third line. UW’s third line also includes freshmen forwards Karley Sylvester and Blayre Turnbull, and although it’s an inexperienced line, the group that has continually improved and contributed two goals Sunday.
“They’ve been pretty good,” Johnson said. “I mean the first month where we had a tough schedule, they got to get their feet wet early and they’ve made improvements in a lot of their games. It was nice [Sunday] to see them score a few goals, and if they continue that, it’s going to make us harder to play against.”
Sylvester points to open and clear communication as being the biggest reason for the third line’s recent success.
“The communication is a big part,” Sylvester said. “We all communicate, call for the puck, talk to each other when we’re open. If we miss one of the passes to each other, we’ll talk about it and be like, ‘Hey I’m open backdoor, just look next time and that helps a lot.'”
St. Cloud stayed within reach a little longer in Friday afternoon’s matchup. The Huskies trailed 2-0 entering the third period, but Hilary Knight had two of three third period goals for the Badgers, as they ran away with a 5-0 victory.
Wisconsin has won its last 10 games including the sweep over St. Cloud State. Sunday’s game marked UW’s last home game until January 20, since the next couple months include winter break and four straight road series.
“We love playing at the Kohl Center,” senior Brooke Ammerman said. “It’s our favorite place to play for all of us. I mean we’re definitely going to miss it, but it’ll be good momentum going into our long road trip ahead.”
