Four games stand between the No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team (9-1-0 WCHA, 15-1-0 overall) and the end of the season's first half. With a showdown against No. 8 Bemidji State looming next weekend, the Badgers' series against Minnesota State University-Mankato (1-7-0, 5-9-0) this weekend has the makings of a trap series.
Don't suggest such a thing to head coach Mark Johnson, who has driven home a simple message to ensure the Badgers approach every game the same way: Play hard, and play smart.
"It's not complicated," Johnson said. "If you play hard and you play smart, those are simple ingredients that go into a game that you can simplify."
Bemidji State's four wins in its eight games against ranked teams this season is of no concern to Johnson or the Badgers. MSU-Mankato has Wisconsin's full attention.
"[The rink at MSU-Mankato] is a lot like going down to Ohio State where you've got a rink that's quite small, so things will happen real quickly. There's not a lot of rhythm or flow to the game," Johnson said. "It's our ability to adapt to that as quick as we can and play accordingly."
After playing four consecutive ranked teams in October, Wisconsin's last three opponents have had a combined 9-22-6 record, and none were ranked. Whether it is attributed to the lighter schedule or simply the experience that comes with a season's progression, the Badger underclassmen have shown much improvement during that stretch.
"I think the freshmen have stepped up tremendously. They came in here ready to play," senior forward Hilary Knight said. "October was a tough month thrown at us, but we persevered through it and now we have to build off our momentum."
In particular, freshman forward Katy Josephs was named the WCHA rookie of the week after recording a goal and an assist in last weekend's series against St. Cloud State.
"I felt more comfortable [last weekend] for some reason," Josephs said. "I felt like I held onto the puck better, which got into every aspect of my game."
Josephs' recent success comes as no surprise to her teammates or coaches. In fact, it is almost expected. Wisconsin's roster is composed of 24 players, and all are expected to play at a high level when put on the ice.
"We go off the premise that everybody has to be ready at any given moment," Knight said. "We've done a great job of doing that thus far."
A more experienced Wisconsin team cannot be good news for the rest of the WCHA.
"When we go back to playing the harder teams, it's going to be important that we still have that jump," Josephs said. "We need to keep pushing through and get better every game."
If one were to suggest this weekend's series was a trap series, he probably does not know much about this Badgers team.
