The UW women's hockey team drops the puck this weekend against St. Cloud State in a must-win series for both teams.
The Badgers (0-3-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 4-3-1 overall) sit at the bottom of the league standings, just below the St. Cloud State Huskies (1-3-0, 1-6-0).
UW is coming off two competitive losses to Minnesota, which is now tied for first place in the nation with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, which UW faced the previous weekend. Senior goalie Jackie MacMillan is the primary reason the series was close. The four-year starter held the high-scoring Gopher attack to five goals in two games and saved 40 shots in the second game, as the team lost 2-1.
\Seeing that many shots is a challenge in any game, especially from a team like Minnesota, when all of their shots are high quality. I like the challenge of seeing that many shots,"" MacMillan said. ""I just really enjoy being involved in the game.""
St. Cloud State, UW's next opponent, is currently on a five-game losing streak and lost to Minnesota earlier in the season 10-1 and 8-0.
St. Cloud State's losing streak, however, cannot faze the Badgers, as they have exactly zero wins in the conference.
""We need to get some points in the [WCHA] standings,"" MacMillan said. ""We need to start gaining some ground here.""
For the Badgers to gain ground they will need a lively performance out of their offense, which was held to two goals against Minnesota.
""I think scoring is one thing we need to start working on,"" MacMillan said. ""We need to start getting some offensive output, taking advantage of quality scoring opportunities.""
One key performer for the offense, junior forward Meghan Hunter, scored one goal during the non-conference schedule, but has been silent during WCHA play. In order for UW to climb up in the standings, it needs an offensive performance to match the performance of its goalie.
