The top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team welcomed No. 10 Ohio State to the Kohl Center last weekend, and next weekend it will travel to Minnesota to take on the No. 6 Gophers. Between those two series, the Badgers will finish their eight-game season-opening homestand with a pair of games against Minnesota State, an unremarkable 2-3-1 squad still struggling to move up from the lower rungs of the WCHA ladder.
So after a pair of high-energy wins over the Buckeyes and the Border Battle looming, it is fair to ask if the Wisconsin team that takes the ice Friday and Saturday afternoons will lack the energy it had a week ago or will have a week from now. Senior forward Meghan Duggan, however, said given the big upsets in the conference so far— including one last weekend when Minnesota State defeated No. 8 North Dakota— the Badgers will not take the Mavericks lightly.
""Anyone's going to be hungry this early in the season,"" Duggan said. ""There's been upsets in the league already, there's been people beating teams that people aren't expecting.""
Head coach Mark Johnson and sophomore goaltender Becca Ruegsegger both said the series against top-10 teams, with Mankato in between them, will not be an issue.
""I haven't even thought about Minnesota,"" Johnson said.
""If we're playing Friday we need to focus on Friday,"" Ruegsegger said. ""If we're playing on Saturday we're focusing on Saturday.""
Johnson said the Mavericks' 4-2 victory over the Sioux shows not only their skill as a team but the parity throughout the WCHA.
""That gets your attention,"" he said. ""They're capable of beating anybody on a given night. That's sort of what we've become as a league.""
As long as Wisconsin's offense keeps producing at the pace it has, however, the Badgers shouldn't have much difficulty against Minnesota State. Wisconsin's offense is tied for second in the country, averaging 5.5 goals per game, and the Badger forwards have been converting at a rate not seen since their 2008-'09 national title-winning squad.
Three different players have tallied hat tricks in Wisconsin's six series this season. The most recent came from sophomore forward Brianna Decker, whose third goal against the Buckeyes in the series opener was also the overtime game-winner.
Johnson likes to talk about the importance of the team's best players being their best players, and the high level of play from forwards like Decker, Duggan and junior Hilary Knight helps make the team as a whole better.
""Their statement of how they're playing and how they're practicing filters through the rest of the team,"" Johnson said. ""When they're playing and working hard and creating and helping win hockey games that just pulls everyone along in the same direction.""
The Badger defense will have to keep an eye out for Minnesota State's talented freshman forward Kathleen Rogan, who had a hat trick of her own in the Mavericks' upset of North Dakota.
Wisconsin will face off against Minnesota State Friday and Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
