After a bye week, the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team (5-1-0 WCHA, 11-1-0 overall) looks to take on the unranked Bemidji State Beavers (2-5-1-0 WCHA, 2-9-1 overall) this weekend.
The Badgers return to the ice with senior forward Annie Pankowski and senior defensemen Mikaela Gardner returning from the Four Nations Cup. Pankowski and Gardner helped Team USA secure wins over the national teams from Finland, Canada and Sweden before advancing into the Championship on Nov. 10 to beat Team Canada 5-2.
While the two seniors were at the Four Nations Cup, the rest of the team had a bye week and a chance to get away from the season’s grind. Some of the team even went to the men’s games on Friday and Saturday to support their fellow hockey players.
“From a player standpoint, it's nice to take a couple of days to just be a student and take a couple of days to relax,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “It refreshes the mind, and I’m sure we’ll see a lot of energy.”
The Beavers have played tough in their past games, which included ranked opponents Minnesota, Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth, but didn’t have luck getting pucks in the net.
“If you look at Bemidji State and some of the games they’ve played up to this point, some nights they play real well, but they don’t get a lot of puck luck and end up losing games,” Johnson said. “The past four games they’ve played, they’ve played against the top teams in the country. In the series in Minneapolis, they probably could have won both games fairly easily.”
Last weekend, they picked up their first two wins of the season with a sweep against No. 4 Ohio State. Even though their record may not be an indicator of the team’s talent, Johnson is wary of the team’s confidence and tough playing.
“If you’re going to be successful against [a team like Bemidji State], you’re going to have to work hard,” Johnson said. “You are going to have to compete at a high level, and you are going to have to capitalize on your opportunities.”
To make up for the lack of games last weekend, the team is looking forward to getting back on the ice.
“It’ll be a challenge for us, and certainly the next couple of days we’re going to get ready for Friday night’s game,” said Johnson.
The puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m. on Friday night and 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at LaBahn Arena.
