After a hard-fought emotional opening weekend series against perennial WCHA powerhouse Minnesota-Duluth, the Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey team continues its opening season homestand against the Vermont Catamounts of Hockey East. In last weekend's series with Duluth, the Badgers got off to a slow start, losing 5-2, but came back Sunday and got a huge 4-3 overtime win. This win came for the Badgers despite trailing 3-2 late in the third period. The comeback earned the Badgers a much-needed split on home ice, and more importantly kept the team from falling behind early in the race for WCHA points.
\Splitting that series was huge after losing Saturday. We needed those two points against a quality opponent,"" said head coach Mark Johnson.
That dramatic come-from-behind win on Sunday was fueled by dynamo junior forward Sarah Bauer, who redirected a point shot from defenseman Bobbi-Jo Slusar past bulldog goalie Rita Schaublin for the game winner in overtime. Big goals and great plays have become a common place for Bauer according to three-year line mate and senior captain Sharon Cole.
""[Bauer] really means a lot to the team, she has great hands and is very, very quick. She really has all the aspects of a great player, and it has been awesome to play with her,"" said Cole.
The relatively quiet Sarah Bauer is starting to take more of a leadership role in her junior year with the young badgers, so much so, that Johnson has named her as one of the teams assistant captains for the season. During a tense, last-minute 4-on-4 situation at the end of the game on Sunday, Johnson showed no hesitation getting Bauer on the ice.
""She plays power play, penalty kill, and plays a regular shift and now she's wearing an assistant captain on her jersey,"" said Johnson. ""It's a new role for her, but I thought Saturday she played very well for us, and then Sunday she scored a very big goal for us.""
It is very difficult to underestimate Bauer's value to the Badgers, especially as she takes an even more prominent role with the team as an upperclassman. But if you need any more information as to her value as a player, just ask any coach from around the WCHA. The coaches voted Bauer unanimously as the league's preseason player of the year, an honor that is fully deserved.
""I know I have to step up and be a leader and set a good example, but I don't feel any different about this year than before,"" said Bauer. ""We have always had a deep team, and this year it's no different.""
Bauer and the Badgers will try to keep the momentum gained from the big win Sunday going this weekend against lowly Vermont, who had just five wins last season. In an ideal world, this series and the Duluth series would have been flipped around so that the Badgers would have got their feet wet in a less stressful situation, but Johnson felt like the series was good for the young team.
""For the younger players it was a real eye-opener, playing against one of the better teams around,"" said Johnson. ""It was a good learning experience for our younger players.""
But the thing the Badgers will be looking to avoid the most this weekend is a letdown against the Catamounts. Cole has no expectations for this to occur.
""We definitely want to keep our pace up and we don't want to play down to any other team,"" said Cole. ""We want to keep playing the best hockey we can play.""
