Redshirt junior Kristen Campbell is back in Madison for her second season with the Badgers after a year where she won WCHA Goalie of the Year honors and helped lead Wisconsin back to the Frozen Four.
However, Campbell’s season hasn’t started quite like she had hoped it would. Tough opponents and fluky shots have dominated the season for the Badger goaltender so far, to the tune of an 0.894 save percentage.
That lands Campbell as the eighth-best goalie in the WCHA for now, but her 0.941 save percentage from last year indicates she’ll bounce back. Head coach Mark Johnson said Campbell has been working hard in every practice, focusing in on how to improve.
“She wants to get better,” Johnson said. “It’s all about how you respond to adversity.”
Campbell was the best goalie in the WCHA last year for a reason, and she should be able to knock the rust off soon. A stat that may calm Badger fans about their goalie: Through four games, Campbell has only allowed five goals. That number is not eye-popping by any means, which provides reassurance Campbell will return to her usual dominance soon enough.
While Campbell’s 2017-'18 year was filled with personal bests and accomplishments, the team as a whole fell just short of the lofty expectations they had.
Wisconsin made another appearance in the Frozen Four last year but lost to Colgate in the first game. There was a sense around the team that the season was a disappointment. At the very least, they felt they should’ve performed better than losing in double overtime during college hockey’s biggest stage.
“It left a bad taste in our mouth; the season didn’t end how we wanted it to,” Campbell said.
This year’s team feels like they have something to prove. After being the consensus No. 1 team in the nation for the majority of the season last year, the Badgers ran out of gas when it counted most.
Campbell is determined not to let that happen again this year. The goaltender worked all summer honing her skills, drawing praise from both Johnson and her teammates.
“I know how hard she worked all summer, she treats everything as a learning opportunity on the ice,” Johnson said.
Campbell now has another season of being with the team after transferring form North Dakota a year ago. After a year of experience, Campbell remarked how high the level of competition is in Madison. The women’s team has been a staple of university sports for years, and that helps raise the competition level for every player who walks into LaBahn Arena.
“Everyone here wants to be good; [hockey] is a lot more intense at Wisconsin,” Campbell said.
There’s a long season ahead of the Badgers with contests scheduled until the end of February. At that point Wisconsin hopes to prove that they are better than last year, and perform at a higher level in the postseason. The defense will undoubtedly be anchored by Campbell all season, and after another year of experience, she is ready for the challenge.
