Women's hockey comes off its best season in its three-year existence, going 22-11-2 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs. A big reason for its success can be attributed to senior defensemen Kerry Weiland. Weiland has been here from the birth of this program. Now, four years later, Kerry will see those years culminate this season with a new coach and new hopes for a championship for Wisconsin.
How does the season look for you guys? What do you expect this season?
We have high expectations for ourselves. We want to play to our potential and we know we have a lot of talent, so we're shooting for the stars.
Over the past couple of years you guys have gotten progressively better and better. Is that going to continue into this year? And what do you guys have to do to get better?
I think every year everybody is going to get better and every year our record has improved. With our older players, I mean we have a big senior class and really good freshman and such, so we're really deep in our areas. We have a great goaltender and a strong front line and defense and on top of that, we have Coach Johnson now, so I think we have everything we need to win. We just need to go out there now and perform every night.
Speaking of him, what does Coach Johnson bring to this team?
A lot of knowledge and a lot of experience. Everyone here just welcomes him in with open arms. We listen to every single thing he has to say because we know that he knows what he is talking about.
With Coach Johnson, this is your third coach in four years. What does that do to the team?
It's not the most favorable situation to be in. Every coach has their own style and each has their own different priorities and how they handle players but I think that the team adjusted well. I mean, this year we have a new coach and a new system but I think that the coach has made the transition easy for us and that has helped a lot. All it comes down to now is how we play.
Being that you came here just when this program was born, what brought you here?
Well, it's just the city. The community and the atmosphere are amazing. I mean, look at football weekend. This city and this place loves their sports. To come here and play in an atmosphere like that is what I wanted to do. Also the big academics available here.
What are you here for?
I'm a legal studies and sociology double major.
Now this will be your last year. How have your last three years been and how do you feel about this being your last year?
Pretty much shocked. Every day for the past three years you wake up and get ready for hockey and now I have to get ready to move on with my life. I don't take any more days for granted because I know soon will be my last and I won't be able to play anymore. The last three years have been great. It's been such a great experience to play here. I've been able to grow up and find myself with 25 people who you enjoy to be around.
I look at this list and see that you have won a lot of awards from last season. Do younger girls come to you to be a leader?
I think that it shows that not only do your peers respect you but that other coaches in the league respect you. It's great and stuff but I want stuff for the team. I want the team championship. Individual awards are nice because its hardware to take home but it's not the same as a championship. I'd rather have that.
What will it take to win that championship?
A lot of hard work, because everybody is going to be better and they will all be on the same page. There are going to be a lot of hard teams across the nation. Harvard is going to be stacked, Minnesota is stacked, Dartmouth will be a hard team too. It will be hard, but it'll also be great to help elevate the level of women's hockey. Overall though it's going to be a lot of hard work and there'll be a lot of bumping and grinding, but I think that we can play against all those teams so it all depends on who shows up this season.
