Wisconsin women’s hockey has lived up to expectations yet again in 2011. There were high hopes before the season for a program coming off its fourth national championship in six seasons, and the Badgers haven’t disappointed.
UW enters its last series before winter break with a 17-1 overall record, its only blemish an early season loss to Minnesota.
“I think we have done really well so far [this season],” junior defender Stefanie McKeough said. “We have had a lot of young players get a lot of experience through that first hard month. We kind of threw them into the lion’s den, so I think they have definitely learned a lot from that and gotten into our systems. We have had a lot of success.”
The Badgers look to continue their success on the road at Bemidji, Minn., this weekend. Wisconsin has faced weaker opponents in the past month, but will face a more difficult test in the Bemidji State Beavers (10-5-2) on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
“I think they are a really well-coached team. They really play well into their systems,” McKeough said. “We kind of refer to them as some type of gnat or something. They are always on you; you just can’t get them off no matter how hard you try. I think they have a really good goaltender too; she is really big. And they block a lot of shots too, so I think you find success whenever you run into a hot goalie.”
Bemidji State goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova has helped the Beavers find success behind her .933 save percentage and 433 saves this season. UW forward Brooke Ammerman has been facing the senior goalie from Bratislava, Slovakia, for four seasons now. Ammerman said Tomcikova has been “phenomenal” since the first time they played freshman year, and that she has been a large contributor to the Beavers’ success this season.
With winter break and finals approaching, the Badgers can’t overlook Bemidji State. They also will not play any games for nearly a month. For teams riding high on momentum and playing cohesively, a break from action can sometimes be problematic. Wisconsin’s first series back is at Minnesota, so the team will need to be playing its best hockey. But these Badgers have been in this situation before and know how to handle a long break from action.
“I think we are used to it because players have been here,” Ammerman said. “It’s a nice break, everybody deserves a little time off, but it’s not that long so we will be alright.”
McKeough believes this weekend’s series is important because a victory would be beneficial in carrying momentum over the break into the Minnesota series in early January.
“I definitely think the momentum will carry through into our series against Minnesota if we get two wins, especially because we will be missing a few players,” McKeough said. “It will be a really big confidence boost if we sweep Bemidji especially because they have split [series] with a few ranked teams.”
Veterans like McKeough and Ammerman will be important for leading the team by example in these situations. They know the importance of the Bemidji series and its role in preparing them to play Minnesota in a few weeks. But head coach Mark Johnson works his players hard and always has them prepared for their opponents.
“I think our work ethic has been great in every game we have played,” Ammerman said. “We have had a chance to win all of them and were able to win most of them, so I think work ethic will carry us though the second half of the year.”
