The No. 2 UW women's hockey team heads into Minneapolis for this weekend's Frozen Four with one simple objective: to bring home an NCAA championship.
This goal isn't so simple though, as the Badgers (34-4-1) will have to fight their way through a streaking St. Lawrence squad Friday afternoon, which has won 13 of its last 14 contests.
The Badgers will have their hands full. The Saints (31-4-2) bring a large amount of physicality to the table, and are strong on both sides of the puck, as they led the Eastern College Athletic Conference in both scoring offense (4.00 goals per game) and scoring defense, allowing a minuscule 1.27 goals per game.
St. Lawrence also possesses star power on offense and defense. Sophomore forward Sabrina Harbec is one of three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the nation's most outstanding player. She is second in the nation in scoring with 61 points and leads the nation with 36 assists. The goalie tandem of Jess Moffat and Meaghan Guckian allows just 1.29 and 1.27 goals per game, respectively.
UW junior defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar is familiar with and has played with several of the Saints' players. She knows that they have the ability to get the job done every night.
I've played against three of their players,\ Slusar said. ""Sabrina Harbec is one of the leading scorers in the nation; she's a good player. I think they have a couple of strong lines. They have some key players that we're going to have to watch out there.""
The Badgers have some star power of their own as well. USCHO.com voted junior forward Sara Bauer as its Player of the Year and awarded Slusar with its Defender of the Year accolade. UW is also strong in the net, with a strong trio of goalies in senior Meghan Horras, junior Christine Dufour, and athletic redshirt freshman Jessie Vetter. With three strong goalies, head coach Mark Johnson is posed with the problem of who to start. Vetter got the nod in last Saturday's victory over Mercyhurst, but Johnson knows that all three deserve consideration and the decision will be made after Thursday's practice.
""They've been pretty good about it, and have been very supportive of one another,"" Johnson said. ""I know all three want to play and all three are capable of playing ... we'll try to decide who best fits us against St. Lawrence. We're confident in all three.""
The Badgers will also have an advantage playing at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, which is an Olympic-size sheet of ice. UW plays on a slightly larger ice surface than the Saints, and although it will be an obstacle for all teams to overcome, the Badgers believe that this will play to their favor.
If the Badgers knock off the Saints Friday, they will face either No. 1 New Hampshire or Minnesota on Sunday for the national championship.
As a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal hockey team, Johnson knows what it takes to win a championship, and preaches it to his players day in and day out.
""Part of our message to the players is putting individual egos aside, and playing for the team,"" Johnson said. ""At the end of the day, if you win something, it's because everybody was able to sacrifice.""
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