The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team (24-2-2 WCHA, 32-2-2 overall) comes into the week having won its WCHA best of three series against St. Cloud State. The Badgers beat the Huskies 9-3 Friday and finished off the series with a 5-1 victory on Saturday. Wisconsin is currently on a 22-game unbeaten streak, posting a 20-0-2 record since their last loss in November to Minnesota-Duluth.
The big stars for the Badgers this past weekend were a trio of forwards: Sophomore Brianna Decker, senior Meghan Duggan and junior Hilary Knight.
Decker led the Badgers with seven points in the series, her second straight series in which she posted seven points. Decker is ranked fifth in the nation in goals, with 31, and is fourth in the nation in total points, with 72.
Duggan was key in the two victories against St.Cloud, scoring six points. She is second nationally in goals, with 35, and first in total points, with 79.
Knight was also a huge contributor, scoring an additional six points last weekend. Knight leads the nation in goals, with 46, and ranks third in total points with 75. Knight is currently riding a 20-game point streak, which is tied for second all-time at Wisconsin, behind only Duggan, who had a 25-game streak earlier this year.
When asked what sets the three apart from all the other players, head coach Mark Johnson stated that each player is special in their own way.
""For Brianna it is just sheer strength, competitiveness, that ability to want the puck and [the mentality] if you're going to take it away from me, I'm going to get it right back right now,"" Johnson said. ""Hilary is a presence on the ice, has got a fantastic shot, can protect the puck with her body very well, is a good skater and is what you would call a classic power forward.""
""Meghan is probably the most competitive, hard-working player we've probably had here from start to finish; doing everything the right way. If you're looking for a complete player, you don't have to go much farther than her.""
The Badgers now travel to Minnesota for the 2011 WCHA Final Face-off this weekend. They will face No. 4 seed North Dakota (16-10-2-0 WCHA, 20-12-3 overall) in Friday's first semifinal at Ridder Arena. The second semifinal will be between No. 2 seed Minnesota-Duluth and No. 3 seed Minnesota. The winners will play for the title on Saturday night.
Johnson is looking forward to this weekend, as his team prepares for another title run.
""[This tournament] puts you in a situation where it's one and done. So, if you win you get an opportunity to play another game on Saturday night, if you're not successful, you get to watch it,"" Johnson said. ""It's a good first step in our preparation as we unwind this weekend and get ready for the NCAA tournament.""
Wisconsin owns a 30-2 all-time record against North Dakota and swept North Dakota in the two regular season series this year. Additionally, UW is undefeated against North Dakota in postseason play.
