For most of the season, Wisconsin’s game plan has been to suffocate teams with layers of defense and roll out three or even four skilled offensive lines that collectively overwhelm the opposing team’s defenders, wearing them down.
Thus, it came as a surprise to senior forward Sarah Nurse when head coach Mark Johnson told her before a game against Minnesota State two weekends ago that she would be joining junior forwards Annie Pankowski and Emily Clark for the game, a move that put the Badgers’ top three scorers on the same line.
“It was definitely different, something that coach came to us before the game and was like, 'Hey, we're gonna try this, so let's see what happens,’” said Nurse. “I was very excited to play with them, but it was definitely an adjustment and something that we're still learning, but I think it's going well.”
Through three games, Johnson’s experiment has paid off, with the linemates combining for seven goals, including all three game winners. Clark in particular has seemed to benefit, tallying five of the trio’s seven goals over that span.
“It's been awesome,” she said. “We definitely all see the ice pretty similarly and are on the same page for a lot of stuff, so I think it gives us an advantage, especially the more time we spend together.”
The new top line helps the No. 1 Badgers (26-2-1 WCHA, 25-2-1 overall) match up with this weekend’s opponent, No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth (17-4-3, 20-4-4). The Bulldogs are led by forwards Lara Stalder, Ashleigh Brykaliuk and Katherine McGovern, who have a combined 49 goals, more than half of the team’s total.
Fortunately for the Badgers, that potent offensive triad will be broken up by Olympic qualifying, as Stalder will be traveling to Arosa, Switzerland to help the Swiss National Team in its final stage of qualifying. The Bulldogs will also be without junior forward Katerina Mrazova.
Even shorthanded, the UW players know that Duluth with present a tough challenge in the final home series of the year. The Badgers will still have to deal with Brykaliuk and McGovern, as well as sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney, who ranks fifth in the country with a .943 save percentage.
“Their forwards are really skilled, we know that they've been scoring a lot of big goals lately so bearing down in the [defensive zone] will be really important for us this weekend,” said senior defender Jenny Ryan. “We know that their goalie is also really solid so we're gonna have to definitely test her and make sure we're getting a lot of pucks to the net.”
The series also has major implications for the upcoming WCHA playoffs, and potentially the NCAA Tournament. UMD and Wisconsin split a pair of 4-1 games in their first series in Duluth, Minn., with the Bulldogs taking the first game. A sweep for Wisconsin would put them firmly in control of the league standings and cement their status as the No. 1 team in the country, while one or two wins by Duluth would put them on nearly equal footing entering the postseason.
“It'll be huge for us moving on,” said Ryan. “Knowing that we are better than them will be big for us moving on to the playoffs and giving us a lot of confidence.”
Puck drops at LaBahn Arena Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by a 12 p.m. rematch on Sunday.
