On Sept. 17, the Wisconsin women's hockey team gathered for its first official practice ahead of the 2011-'12 season. The Badgers received their national championship rings, and could be forgiven for letting their minds drift back to last spring, when they rode the momentum from a dominant season into the Frozen Four and captured the fourth title in their program's history.
And on Friday–six days after that practice, six months after winning that title and a few moments after enjoying the sight of a banner celebrating it was unveiled at the Kohl Center–Wisconsin will set about the difficult but privileged task of repeating as national champions.
According to sophomore goaltender Alex Rigsby, who backstopped the Badgers' national title run, the team has not forgotten what it took to earn that success the last time around.
""We had a great season last year and we were very successful. But to be successful like how we were, we worked so hard for it,"" Rigsby said. ""We can't take that for granted this year–we're back at square one.""
Wisconsin's season-opening games Friday night and Sunday afternoon will be the first steps on the road to defending the title, but given the opponent, they will not be the toughest.
It would be hard to find a bigger disparity in women's hockey than the one between Wisconsin and Lindenwood. The Badgers have won four national titles in the past six seasons, boast a unanimous preseason No. 1 ranking both nationally and in their conference, are led by a frontrunner for the sport's most valuable player award and are, arguably, the best program in the sport's history.
Lindenwood, meanwhile, will be making its Division I debut Friday, having recently moved to the NCAA level after years in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
But while the Lions are a long way from the level of opponents the Badgers will face later in the season, the opening weekend will present plenty of challenges for Wisconsin. With four players away for the weekend at a Hockey Canada camp, the Badgers will look to their freshmen to contribute a lot in their first weekend at the college level.
Those freshmen will be confronted with the legacy of the players that came before them Friday, when they face off under a banner commemorating the 2011 title. Senior forward and team captain Hilary Knight, who made her debut at the Kohl Center when Wisconsin celebrated its 2007 national championship, said that experience can put pressure on new players.
""It's sort of nerve-wracking, because you're this incoming class and sometimes you just feel like you automatically have to assume a role that's already graduated,"" Knight said. ""You want to do as well as the team that went before you.""
Freshman defenseman Katarina Zgraja said she knows the legacy she will be entering, but that it makes her want to earn a title of her own.
""We've come in and heard so much about last year's team,"" Zgraja said. ""We know how big of a deal it is and we know how much we need to work and how much we want to work in order to win the championship again.""
