Although the Wisconsin women’s hockey team is not accustomed to losing, with Saturday’s loss to Ohio State (16-14-4) only UW’s third this season, there is not a sense of defeat anywhere among the team.
Rather, the Badgers (29-3-2) admire their ability to fight back and remain competitive in the game, as they honor the five players who have led the way.
The senior class dominated both games, racking up nine points in Friday’s 7-1 victory, including three goals, and led the effort to come back after falling behind by three goals early on Saturday.
Friday’s victory gave Wisconsin sole custody of a top place finish in the WCHA, making Saturday’s game meaningless in terms of ranking.
Recognizing the team’s mentality may not have been solely on the game Saturday, as it was also Senior Day at the Kohl Center, head coach Mark Johnson was pleased with his team’s ability to fight back, led by his senior players.
“We were on TV and had Senior Day … it was what it was and you forget about it,” Johnson said. “Obviously the frame of mind of our players next Friday will be a lot different then it was at the start of [Saturday’s] game.”
Senior forward Brooke Ammerman continued dominating for the Badger offense. After almost two periods without a goal, Ammerman finally put one in Saturday while UW was on a power play with 2:29 left in the second period. The goal gave the Badgers the momentum they needed to attempt a comeback.
Friday, Ammerman had a four-point game with a goal and three assists.
Ammerman finished the regular season with 68 points, second on the team, and led the Badgers with 41 assists.
Saturday’s second goal for UW came from senior forward Carolyne Prevost with five minutes to go in the game, making it possible to try and tie the game up.
“We dug ourselves a hole really quickly and if anything I think we are extremely proud of our perseverance throughout the game and being able to try and dig ourselves back out,” senior forward and captain Hilary Knight said. “Unfortunately we ran out of time.”
While only assisting on one goal in the series, Knight was a key component of bringing Wisconsin back Saturday. Knight had 15 shots on the weekend, with eight coming on Saturday and Johnson has said all season long that creating opportunities is what is important because it helps get the rest of the team going.
On defense, senior forward Brittany Haverstock led the effort to shut down Ohio State’s offense. OSU had just six shots in the first period and four in the last. It was just four fatal minutes midway though the first period that put UW down 3-0.
“In the three minutes they scored three goals and that was the difference in the game – you take those three minutes out of there and it’s not too bad,” Johnson said.
Senior goal tender Nikki Kaasa also earned a start for the Badgers Saturday.
Ending the season with a loss isn’t how anyone pictured Wisconsin’s weekend going, but it serves as a wake-up call to the team. Knight said that she was happy with a loss because it will make her team more focused going into playoffs.
With playoffs starting next weekend, the senior class now sees its time in Wisconsin uniforms being determined by the team’s success going forward. After an emotional Senior Day, Knight is pleased with how her team is coming together.
“I was just reflecting on my entire career here and it’s just game by game now, its scary but I think I’ve had a wonderful four years here, and I couldn’t ask for a better group to go forward with,” Knight said. “I’m thankful that we have great leadership group and some younger players stepping up, and hopefully we will be victorious in the second season.”
