The Wisconsin women's hockey team (16-5-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 22-5-3 overall) ensured themselves at least a second-place finish in the WCHA after a series sweep of Ohio State last weekend. The Badgers dominated the Buckeyes, outscoring them 13-3 in the two games.
Senior right wing Karen Rickard was named the WCHA's Offensive Player of the Week after leading Wisconsin to two consecutive wins over OSU, scoring three goals and tallying two assists. She is tied for the team lead in goals with 14 and tied for third among her teammates in total points with 23. The victory extended UW's incredible run of not having lost a series since late October at the hands of top-ranked Minnesota.
The Badgers will face off against Bemidji State (3-18-1, 5-25-2), this weekend as they wrap up the regular season at the Kohl Center.
\The big thing is to continue to play the way we're capable of playing regardless of who you're up against. And the one thing the group understands is what's at stake,"" Head Coach Mark Johnson said. ""It's going to be a playoff atmosphere as we approach Bemidji and as we approach the Final Five because we're in a position where we need to win and I don't care who we're playing.""
""Realistically we have a chance, but I don't know if St. Cloud can beat Minnesota twice,"" Johnson said. ""I'd love for them to do it, but we just have to be concerned with what we can control. We can control playing our games Saturday and Sunday and then getting ready to go up to the Final Five.""
""Our focus right now is our game on Saturday because while we pretty much have second-place locked up we can't afford to take any team lightly because we want to keep on a roll going into the tournament,"" Rickard said.
Coach Johnson has kept his players level-headed and locked in to their next opponent so that they are not caught off guard by upset-minded Bemidji State.
""We just have to maintain our focus and try not to play down to the level of our opponent,"" sophomore goaltender Meghan Horras said. ""We just have to keep up the pace and hopefully put some pucks in the net so we can get our confidence up for the next couple games.""
As the WCHA tournament approaches, the Badgers hope to come away with two wins this weekend and deal with future challenges as they come.
""Whatever happens is going to come down to how we prepare and stuff so if we just keep working hard in practice everyday and keep winning games it should all work out the way we want it to,"" Rickard said, echoing her coach's sentiments.
""As far as winning the tournament and being able to go to the Frozen Four, having that as motivation is really great for our team because we want to be competitive, and we want to be in the picture at the end of the year,"" Rickard said.
Barring a stunning upset of Minnesota this weekend, UW will face Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the WCHA Tournament. Despite being shutout 3-0 in the first meeting of four between the two teams this season, the Badgers have won two of their last three meetings against the Bulldogs.
