Multiple scorers, a solid defense and an unstoppable goalie have allowed the Wisconsin women’s hockey team to exceed already high expectations in the first half of their season.
With a record of 19-1-0, the Badgers enter their winter break with confidence and a sense of accomplishment. UW has maintained its No. 1 rank in the U.S. college hockey national poll since the start of the season. After beginning strong, Wisconsin now looks to continue toward another national championship.
“Overall, I think we have exceeded our own expectations in having such a strong record,” junior defensemen Stefanie McKeough said. “This season we knew we had a good team, but we also had a lot of new players.”
Key to this success is the explosive Badger offense. The team has racked up 102 goals in the 20 games they have played in this first half of the season, averaging just over five goals per game. But most impressive is the contributions by multiple Badgers that poses an even bigger threat to opponents. Four players have contributed at least 10 goals each.
Leading the Badgers is junior forward Brianna Decker, with 48 points thus far. Decker has scored 21 goals while assisting on 27 goals, and this has led Decker to currently hold a 31-game point streak that shows no signs of letting down.
“We have at least six of us that are putting the puck away and making things happen out there,” Decker said. “That shows a lot of depth in our team.”
Backing up this powerhouse is a consistent defense and solid goaltender. UW has allowed opponents to score only 26 goals. Leading the defense, McKeough has been able to integrate her play with the offensive lines. She has scored three goals for the Badgers and has 16 assists for 16 points on the season.
Sophomore goaltender Alex Rigsby continues to be an instrumental aspect of Wisconsin’s accomplishments. Highlighting her success is the 80 saves made in the series against Minnesota-Duluth back in October. Rigsby has also posted six shutouts. Her success has helped propel the team forward, and her hard work ethic both in games and practices pushes her teammates to become better as well.
“The harder [Rigsby] makes it to score goals in practice, we have to work harder,” McKeough said. “We are able to then finish more in games.”
The work ethic of the Badgers is the biggest reason they have been able to consistently perform well. Both on and off the ice, each team member sees their hard effort pay off as they challenge one another to do better.
At practice each day, there is a sense of urgency and determination on the ice, something head coach Mark Johnson has insisted on from the start. The team believes they are their toughest opponents, and their tough mentality at practice has shown to be successful during gameplay.
For freshman forward Blayre Turnbull, the expectation of top-notch practice was something she feels has helped her step up and improve her play. Although knowing the highly respected reputation of the women’s hockey program at UW, Turnbull was amazed at how much effort her teammates put in both on and off the ice.
“The work ethic of all the players is great. Not that I expected them to not work hard, I just wasn’t expecting everybody to be playing their very hardest every time and every practice,” Turbull said. “I knew coming in here how good the team was. … I am just very happy that we really have been able to be so successful.”
Determination and hard work were necessary from the start as UW faced a consistently competitive schedule. Wisconsin matched up against top-notch squads like North Dakota, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth and Boston University in consecutive weekend series during October. They managed to come out of this tough month with only one loss to Minnesota.
With Minnesota being the team’s biggest rival, these games are hyped up among the players. After winning game one of the home series, UW fell victim to their rival in a close game two. While it would have been ideal to start of the season with a perfect record, the team used this loss to fuel their desire to win and showed the Badgers the importance of consistency between games.
“I think [a loss] makes you realize you are not invincible and that every game is a new game no matter how good of a game you had the day before,” McKeough said. “Every game is a new 60 minutes.”
With the impressive 2011 portion of the season in the past, Wisconsin still faces challenges ahead. The team will begin 2012 with two away series against second-ranked Minnesota and sixth-ranked North Dakota before returning to Madison to face ninth-ranked Minnesota-Duluth. UW will need to carry over their hard work ethic seen in this first part of the season to be successful in the tough schedule ahead.
“I think game by game we have been doing well, obviously, but I think if you break down each game by periods, I think we can show up to each period a lot more consistently,” Decker said on moving forward. “We expected to do well this season, but all that matters is we continue to show up every weekend.”
