Eighteen wins. Zero ties, zero losses. Seventy-five goals scored. Nine goals allowed. Ten shutouts. Only one game with more than one goal allowed. And one WCHA title. All of these statistics can be easily summed up in one word: dominant.
And dominant is the exact term to describe the success of the Wisconsin women’s hockey team at its home LaBahn Arena this year. Obviously their road record (10-3-1) isn’t too shabby either, but to emerge with a home record void of blemishes in one of the toughest conferences in the country is extremely impressive. LaBahn has been an impenetrable stronghold for the Badgers, and their remarkable success at home propelled Wisconsin to its first conference title in four years.
Opened for business in October 2012, LaBahn Arena is a relatively new venue on the UW campus. Directly connected to the Kohl Center by tunnel, the rink serves as the venue for all women’s hockey home games and the practice facility for both the men’s and women’s teams.
Walking into LaBahn, coaches, players and fans alike will see a state-of-the art facility, a beautiful home to women’s hockey that provides a great atmosphere for both supporters and players. Speaking to Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal back in 2012, head coach Mark Johnson described the benefits of being connected to the Kohl Center and how nice LaBahn truly is.
“Everything’s under one roof,” Johnson said. “To me, that’s the real advantage, other than when you walk in and you’re going to get wowed just by the amenities.”
The players equally enjoy the amenities provided to them at the arena.
“Here we are at home so we have a nice locker room and pretty nice everything,” junior goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens said. “I’m not sure what it’s like for the visiting team, but I feel like we have everything we need here to be successful, all of the equipment and the staff, so we definitely don’t have anything to complain about.”
LaBahn joins Ridder Arena in Minneapolis as the only two hockey arenas purpose-built for women’s hockey. Before it was constructed, it was often difficult for both UW hockey teams to find facilities to practice at when the Kohl Center was being occupied by the basketball teams. On those occasions, the teams had to go elsewhere, with the women’s team going as far as Verona to find somewhere to practice. LaBahn presents a much more convenient and safer option for the hockey programs.
But LaBahn Arena is more than just a convenient practice location. With a seating capacity of 2,273, the arena fills up very fast, and provides a more lively atmosphere than when the team still played in the Kohl Center. Assistant coach Jackie Friesen, who played on and coached the team at the Kohl Center, also sees the advantages at LaBahn.
“If you have let’s say 2,300 fans in the Kohl Center it doesn’t look like it’s full at all, it probably looks like it’s pretty empty,” Friesen said. “So when you compact 2,300 fans into LaBahn, it’s packed, it’s full. It’s steep, so the fans are on top of you, it’s loud and it makes a huge difference.”
Fan support was incredible for the Badgers this season. Of their 18 home games, 10 have been sold out, including six of their last seven. The average percent of the capacity filled at the arena was an impressive 88 percent. Johnson believes a lot of the support comes from the team being active in the Madison community.
“[The atmosphere at LaBahn] is special, and I think our seniors have a lot to do with it,” Johnson said in mid-february after the Badgers clinched the WCHA title. “A lot of our involvement in the community, when we go out and do certain events, [the players] engage and they create fans, and over the course of their four years we’ve built it up to the point where now there’s six or seven sellouts in a row.”
Building up the community outreach has clearly paid off in the stands, as LaBahn has been packed and raucous for the biggest games this year, creating a special feeling for everyone involved.
“We’ve got the band here, got an atmosphere, and it’s fun,” Johnson continued. “If I’m a parent for my daughter, which I am, it’s fun to watch them play in that environment because a lot of places we go they’ll have friends and family, but they don’t have that fan base we have, so it’s a very unique atmosphere.”
Naturally, the players enjoy the atmosphere just as much as the coaches.
“[The support at home] has been incredible, just the energy is electric in the building and it’s so fun to play here,” sophomore forward Annie Pankowski said.
“I think it’s awesome knowing that every single time we are going to show up on the ice, we are going to have like 2,000 fans behind us cheering,” Desbiens added. “The atmosphere is pretty amazing, especially compared to other places when we go up there and there is no [fans], so I think we are pretty lucky.”
Like her teammates, senior forward Rachel Jones attributes the Badgers’ undefeated record to their fan support.
“I think a lot of that can go to our fans that bring the energy and make it a great atmosphere to play in and an extra kick when we need it,” she said.
Pankowski also believes the fan support makes playing at LaBahn as unenjoyable for their opponents as it is enjoyable for the Badgers.
“[LaBahn] definitely gives us a home ice advantage. I think teams hate playing here because of how tough our crowd is, so it’s just amazing for us to play here.
Friesen has continued to see the fan base expand over her many years with the program, and believes the success of the team and the atmosphere of LaBahn Arena will continue to grow the fan support in the following years.
“[The fan support] has obviously grown since I was a player until now, it’s grown leaps and bounds, and that is partly due to the success we’ve had, and then also it does make a difference with the atmosphere with this new facility,” she said. “We definitely see a difference in that and hopefully it’s going to be the hottest ticket in town, and we’ll have 20 sellouts next year.”
The Badgers are back at LaBahn Arena this weekend for the first round of the WCHA playoffs, facing off against Minnesota State in a best-of-three series. Tickets are still available for the opening game, but it’s advised anyone interested in attending to move quickly, as those tickets won’t be available for much longer.
