The No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (2-0-0 WCHA, 4-0-0 overall) continued their hot start to the season, as they pummeled Ohio State (0-2-0, 2-2-0) 8-0 Sunday afternoon, completing the two-game sweep to open conference play. outscoring OSU by a combined score of 15-0 between the two games.
After Wisconsin delivered a 7-0 beatdown to Ohio State yesterday, head coach Mark Johnson was expecting the Buckeyes to come out stronger.
“I mentioned to the team before we went out to make sure that we were ready as they are going to push,” Johnson said.
But that was not to be the case, as the Badgers got on the board extremely early the second game of the series. Junior defnseman Jenny Ryan dropped off a pass for sophomore forward Emily Clark, who put the puck away, giving Wisconsin the 1-0 lead only 30 seconds into the game.
Shortly after, fellow sophomore Annie Pankowski stole the puck in Ohio State territory, and sliced in for an unassisted goal to put the Badgers up 2-0.
Clark and Pankowski were dominant again today, as Pankowski contributed a goal and two assists, whereas Clark had two goals and an assist, including an extremely impressive goal in the third period where she carved through the whole Ohio State team by herself before beating the goalie for the seventh goal of the afternoon.
Clark attributed the first line’s attacking success to outstanding chemistry.
“It’s so much fun,” she said. “We are definitely hooking up really well and finding space for each other,”
But the story of today’s game was how well balanced the Badgers’ attack was, as 11 different players registered at least one point in the win.
Junior forward Sydney McKibbon, who had a goal and an assist in the win, said that having everyone get involved now will be beneficial to the team down the road.
“It gives people a lot of confidence, whether you’re getting a couple of goals or a couple of assists, it gives you a lot of confidence going into the next weekend,” she said. “It helps us get ready and rolling for the next weekend.”
The UW offense was indeed firing on all cylinders, as they recorded 61 shots on goal, the seventh-highest single-game total in program history. Other goalscorers included Ryan, Sarah Nurse, Mikayla Johnson and freshman Mikaela Gardner, who earned her first collegiate goal.
It was an offensive showing that was much to their coach’s liking.
“It’s fun to play with the puck,” Johnson said. “We had a lot of offensive zone presence and we used our speed and cycled the puck to create opportunities.”
The defensive play this weekend was equally impressive, as junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens posted her second shutout on Sunday, putting her total career shutouts at 19, third in Wisconsin history.
While she hasn’t been challenged a lot so far, Desbiens has kept her focus in every game in order to prepare for later in the season.
“I just need to go into every single game, focused on every single shot,” Desbiens said. “I know as the season goes on the teams will improve and it’s going to get harder, so we need to make sure we focus right now on the little things so we can be ready for the bigger games.”
Wisconsin couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, but Johnson stressed the importance of continual improvement moving forward.
“It’s a process, and you want to continue to build and get better,” he said. “You watch us play in January, we are better than what we are today. One day at a time, one game at a time and try to get better for the next one.”
The Badgers are on the move next weekend, as they travel to St. Cloud State, where they will take on the Huskies in their second WCHA matchup.
