As the No. 7 Wisconsin women's hockey team heads into their winter break, they find themselves in a position which they have not occupied since 2004, trailing both Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth at the half way point of the season.
The Badgers are five points behind the Gophers and eight behind the Bulldogs even though they have played two fewer games than either team. A big part of Wisconsin's situation is their 1-3-0 record against Minnesota and Duluth.
After the break the Badgers will not face a single non-conference opponent. Their schedule consists of seven series, one against each of the other WCHA teams. The last three weeks of the season will be especially important as they feature trips to Duluth and Minneapolis.
Wisconsin does get to come out of the break with three of their first four series against teams with losing records.
The Badger offense will need to rally and start putting more pucks in net. They have scored two or fewer goals eight times this season and are 0-6-2 in those games as compared to 12-0-0 when they score three or more goals. Last season the Badgers score two or fewer goals only eight times in 41 games.
Wisconsin, however, is getting their offense from a variety of sources this season. They have 10 players who have registered 10 or more points this season, three more than any other WCHA team.
Jasmine Giles and Alycia Matthews both have much better numbers than they did at this point last season. Giles has nine more points than she did at the break last season and Matthews has eight more points.
Unless a massive collapse happens in the second half Wisconsin should make the WCHA Final Five and have a good shot at the NCAA Tournament. Going to those post-season games would likely however, mean more matchups with Duluth and their skilled goalie Kim Martin who twice beat the Badgers in the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin is the reigning national champion but will need to play much better in the second half of the season to set things up for a post season run.
First Half MVP: Jessie Vetter
The junior from Cottage Grove is again anchoring the Badger defense, which is the best in the WCHA. She ranks fourth nationally in goals against average(1.33), second in minutes played and has seven shutouts, three more than any other goalie.
Vetter's role is even more important since Wisconsin lost all-time great Sara Bauer and two All-American defenders who combined for 82 points last season. The Badger offense is scoring one less goal per game against conference foes than it did last season.
This is Vetter's first season without an experienced second goaltender. She is playing 89 percent of the minutes in net.
First half rookie of the year: Hilary Knight
Knight has been a big part of Wisconsin's offense this season leading the team in points during the first 20 games. She scored two goals in just her second game in Wisconsin uniform and tallied four assists Oct. 20 against St. Cloud State.
Before entering college, Knight played on U.S. national teams several times under coach Johnson and led her high school to a New England championship.
