The Badger women's hockey team has won nine of its last 10 games and is gaining confidence going into its last six games and the WCHA tournament.
Junior goaltender Jackie MacMillan said the team is playing well at the height of the season.
\I feel like we're peaking at the right time, right at the end of the season when we need to be,"" MacMillan said.
The team has played well despite having to deal with Head Coach Trina Bourget's unexpected medical leave in mid January, which put assistants Dan Koch and Tracey Cornell in charge while she is out. Koch said it has not been a big adjustment for him and that it is easy to work with Cornell.
""Tracey and I work really well together,"" Koch said. ""We plan practices together and work on recruiting together. For me nothing has really changed.""
Junior captain Sis Paulsen said the team is also responding well to the situation.
""We're playing well and we've come together, Paulsen said. ""We're trying to support [Bourget] in any way possible, and by doing that we've got to be good students and good athletes.""
Koch said he is pleased with the way the team has been playing and is seeing things the team has worked on in practice show up in games.
""They're working hard, they feel confident and if we keep working hard and get some bounces, we'll continue to do well,"" Koch said.
The Badgers have a tough road ahead of them as they face No. 1 Minnesota in a series next weekend and No. 8 Ohio State the following weekend. The team is currently ranked No. 10 overall and third in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with a record of 12-5-1 in the WCHA and 16-9-2 overall.
They are looking to gain some ground on Minnesota and possibly move into second place.
""That'll be a good test to see where we'll go,"" Koch said. ""If we play well, I think our confidence will just grow into the WCHA's.""
MacMillan said the team simply needs to focus on playing their game, no matter who it is playing.
""We showed by beating Duluth, sweeping them at their home place, that we're capable of pretty much anything,"" MacMillan said. ""I expect to go to the WCHA tournament and do some damage.\
