Riding an 11-game unbeaten streak, UW women's hockey head coach Mark Johnson is excited for what is yet to come. Fresh off a sweep of North Dakota, Johnson is confident his team will continue to bring its best effort against Minnesota State this weekend.
""As I've told the players before, they can control what they can control, and we'll take care of the other stuff. Their job is to get themselves ready to play Friday afternoon because we're in a good position right now,"" Johnson said regarding his team's preparation for the upcoming series.
Earlier this season, Wisconsin (16-1-3 WCHA, 22-1-3 overall) went into Mankato and swept the Mavericks by scores of 3-1 and 6-1. After routing a struggling North Dakota team, Minnesota State is the second consecutive sub-.500 (in WCHA play) team that the Badgers will face. However, Johnson is not overlooking the Mavericks. He understands the dangers an underdog brings when it faces a top team like Wisconsin.
""[Minnesota State is] on a seven-game winning streak, the longest in the history of their program. They just beat Minnesota in back-to-back games the previous weekend, the first time they've been able to do that. And so they're certainly going to come up here all excited and try to beat us and knock us off the podium,"" Johnson said.
The Mavericks' lack of scoring from its defeners is its largest shortcoming. The leading defensive scorer for MSU is senior Sammy Jo Miller, who has four points this season. Two of Wisconsin's top six scorers are defensemen, with seniors Meghan Mikkelson (31 points—three more than any Maverick player) and Bobbi-Jo Slusar (24 points) providing plenty of offense from the blue line.
""[Mikkelson is] having a real breakout year. Statisticwise, she's having a very good year and certainly one of the reasons our powerplay has been pretty good and our penalty units are pretty strong,"" Johnson said.
Playing inferior opponents is not unusual for Wisconsin. Losing a total of five games throughout the past two seasons, Johnson focuses on keeping his players motivated for games against the likes of North Dakota and Minnesota State.
""When you play a team that maybe isn't ranked or isn't near the top, [staying motivated] becomes challenging. You have to make the atmosphere at practice enjoyable, but continually focus on what the goals are that you set forth at the beginning of the season,"" Johnson explained.
As the regular season winds down, the Badgers, with just one loss, are still trailing Mercyhurst for the top spot in the USCHO.com poll. Johnson is focused on finishing the season strong as his team begins its run to the postseason.
""We've got eight games left. We've got six of them at home, and we've got two on the road. So we've put ourselves into position, and hopefully we'll continue to progress as we finish off the year,"" Johnson said.
