The Wisconsin women’s hockey team came out firing in the first period to build up significant leads in its series sweep of St. Cloud State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

During Friday’s game, the Badgers scored five goals in the game, with four of them in the first period.

Sophomore Sarah Nurse along with seniors Brittany Ammerman and Katy Josephs each scored before Wisconsin conceded a goal.

After the Huskies cut the Badgers’ lead to two, freshman Baylee Wellhausen responded just 16 seconds later to end the first period with a 4-1 UW lead.

Wisconsin has focused on bringing intensity at the beginning of all of its games since a two-game losing streak that included a 2-1 loss to St. Cloud State last Friday.

In both of those losses, the Badgers gave up the first goal of the game and could not find the back of the net early in the game.

Since those back-to-back losses to Ohio State and St. Cloud State, the Badgers have scored at least two first-period goals in each contest.

“We have talked about it prior to last night’s game and after last night’s game, having the success in the first period, the same message had to be talked about today as we got ready for tonight’s game,” Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson said after Saturday night’s 5-0 win. “If you can come out and establish something in the first eight or 10 minutes, create some opportunities and maybe get a goal or two, it sends a message to the other team that you want to win the hockey game.”

Once the first goal came, Wisconsin was able to amp up the energy to keep attacking. Winning the first period of the game sets the tone for both teams, but also builds the confidence of the players that they can continue to go out and score.

“We talked about coming out and setting the pace and setting the tone for six or eight minutes,” Johnson said. “I thought we did a really good job of that. When we scored the first goal, Nurse scores off the faceoff play. We went to another level. We started playing even harder.”

The Badgers’ players can feel the energy as well because of the momentum going in their favor. Once Wisconsin has their opponents on their heels, they want to keep fighting.

“It’s a nice feeling going into every period with the lead,” senior captain Blayre Turnbull said. “We keep the momentum that way and we get really energized when we have the lead, so I think it’s helpful for our team when we jump out quick with a really good start.”

In the second game of the series, the Badgers scored early again, this time opening a two-goal lead on the visiting Huskies in the first 20 minutes.

Mikayla Johnson scored about halfway through the first period, while Emily Clark lit the lamp with just two seconds to go in the opening frame.

The familiarity with St. Cloud State could have been a factor in the recent success, as Wisconsin played the Huskies in four consecutive games at home, including the two games this weekend.

Now that the Badgers have had success early in recent games, they will look to continue the same success coming out next weekend on the road. Wisconsin travels to North Dakota next weekend for the WCHA Final Faceoff, so a quick start on the road could be crucial to their success.

“I think that’s really important coming out next weekend. I know that if we have a strong start, we always play well and that continues on,” Josephs said. “Sometimes when we come out slow, we have a hard time gaining momentum, so I think that will be a big factor if we come out and have a strong start, it will serve us very well.”

One of the struggles of the second half of the season was finding the back of the net despite having plenty of shots on goal and scoring opportunities. In two of its last three losses, UW had at least 41 shots on goal, including 53 against the Huskies last Friday. If Wisconsin can find the back of the net early on, there’s no telling what else they will be able to do.

Once the Badgers are playing with the lead, they do not seem to let up. They only seem to get stronger, which is something Nurse has seen during this three-game stretch.

“It was obviously really important to get off to a fast start,” Nurse said. “I think for us to come out with a lot of energy, a lot of positivity, it really showed on the ice. I think when we get off to a quick start, we’re an unstoppable team.”