The season continues on for the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (35-3-1) as they punched their ticket to a third consecutive Frozen Four appearance, defeating Mercyhurst (19-11-5) in the NCAA quarterfinals 6-0.
The victory came in front of a sold-out and boisterous crowd at LaBahn Arena, an atmosphere that has become a staple at home this season.
“I think during the game you can tell it’s never quiet,” junior forward Sarah Nurse said. “No matter what’s going on in the game, whether there’s kind of a missed call by the refs, the fans are always so loud and I think that is such an intimidating factor when you are playing a team that’s not used to that, so it’s awesome for us.”
Wisconsin kept the fans entertained throughout the entire game, scoring two goals a piece in each period.
They kicked off the scoring in the first about twelve minutes in, when sophomore forward Emily Clark took a shot from center ice that freshman forward Sam Cogan subsequently redirected into the net to put the Badgers in the lead.
The lead was extended five minutes later at the hands of junior defenseman Jenny Ryan, who sniped a shot from the right circle past Mercyhurst goaltender Sarah McDonnell.
Facing a two-goal deficit, Mercyhurst came out aggressive in the second period, and it resulted in a chippier period. The Badgers had to go on the penalty kill midway through the second, but the best penalty kill in the nation did one better than simply preventing their opponent from scoring.
A breakaway opportunity resulted in a two-on-one situation for Nurse and fellow junior forward Sydney McKibbon. A successful combination between the two put McKibbon in on goal, and she glided past McDonnell to put away the goal.
“[McKibbon] kept the puck along the wall and just kind of drew the defender with her and I saw that she was on her forehand and didn’t think to shoot,” Nurse said. “We do it in practice all the time, so she went in and made a great move and scored.”
The second period scoring was capped off by Clark, with Nurse again being the distributor. Nurse led Clark with a beautiful pass that put her on goal, and Clark managed to force the puck into the net, bringing the lead to four goals.
With 20 minutes to go until a spot in the Frozen Four was sealed, the Badgers didn’t slow down in the third. Nurse finally got on the board herself, as senior captain Courtney Burke fired a shot from the blue line. The shot bounced around multiple times before falling to Nurse, who slotted it in to add to her impressive performance.
The final goal came from sophomore forward Baylee Wellhausen, who has been on fire since her move to the third line, as she weaved through multiple defenders and fired into the side of the net, capping off the goals at six.
The shutout was junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens’s 21st of the season, continuing to extend her NCAA single-season shutout record. A monumental accomplishment, Desbiens still doesn’t get ahead of herself.
“Not too busy, but it still counts,” Desbiens said. “I don’t pay attention to that, I just take them one at a time.”
With a WCHA regular season title, a WCHA tournament title and a trip back to the Frozen Four under their belts, it’s safe to say what this team has is special, and head coach Mark Johnson says their chemistry is what sets them apart.
“As we’ve talked about all year, the chemistry has been good,” Johnson said. “This time of the year, the last third of the season, you always want to see people pull together, and when your close all year, the beginning, the middle and the end. The goal of what the team wants to do becomes clear, and then everybody accepts their rule and pulls together, that’s what you are hoping for. We’ve started with a close knit and we continue to support one another. It’s a fun group to work with, it’s fun to go to the rink everyday because you appreciate their smiles. There’s giggles, there’s laughter and a lot of good things from a coaching perspective that gives us an opportunity to do the things we’ve been able to do.”
Wisconsin faces a very familiar foe in Minnesota in the semifinal of the Frozen Four, but the Badgers, as always, are only worried about their game.
“We’ve thought about [Minnesota] obviously, just looking ahead after that game, but I think as we go into this week of practice we really have to worry about our own game, and not worry too much about what they’re doing.” Nurse said. “We’ve been a successful team all year and if we keep doing what we’ve been doing I think we will have a lot of success next week.”
The semifinal matchup takes place on March 18th at 6 p.m. A win would put the Badgers in the championship game against the winner of Boston College and Clarkson.
