Riding a wave of momentum after sweeping rival Minnesota last weekend, the Wisconsin women's hockey team will hope to extend their winning streak against Robert Morris.
The Badgers, who climbed to No. 6 in the national rankings after their sweep of the No. 3 Gophers made a statement nationally with their wins last week. For a team that struggled early on, splitting its first three series against lower-quality opponents, senior forward Jasmine Giles said the sweep will help the team for the rest of the year.
""It was an exciting series to win,"" Giles said. ""It gave us definitely a lot of confidence going into whoever we're playing now, because [the Gophers] are probably going to be the best competition we play all year.""
""We haven't had the best luck this year ... To finally come out against the best team with two wins was definitely the statement that we were hoping to send,"" she added.
Freshman defender Saige Pacholok attributed the Badgers' early struggles to the time it took the young team to grow comfortable with each other as a unit.
""It took a couple of weekends to figure it out, but now, off and on the ice, we're great as a hockey team. We're starting to bond more,"" Pacholok said.
To extend the team's three-game winning streak, head coach Tracey DeKeyser said Wisconsin must put defense first.
""[Defense] has been a running theme with our group,"" she said. ""But until we can be comfortable with how we're playing defense on both ends of the ice, we'll keep working on that.""
In their second game against Minnesota, the Badgers allowed 40 shots on goal while taking just 15, but freshman Becca Ruegsegger turned aside 38 of those shots to help Wisconsin earn the 5-2 win. DeKeyser has not announced who will start in goal Friday against Robert Morris, but Ruegsegger has started each of the Badgers' past four games.
DeKeyser said Robert Morris will not be an easy opponent when it comes to the Kohl Center this weekend. With a 4-1 win over No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth the Colonials have shown they rise to the occasion against top competition.
""We've played them a handful of times, and they've had some good quality wins this season,"" DeKeyser said. ""We're not taking them for granted at all.""
The Badgers will take on Robert Morris Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m.
