While the Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey team has played only two games over the past six weeks, the program has moved up two spots in the USCHO.com poll to the fifth spot in the national rankings.
The lone Winter Break series occurred in Mankato, Minn., on Jan. 4 and 5 with the Badgers sweeping the Minnesota State Mavericks by scores of 4-1 and 3-1.
Sophomore forward Emily Kranz began the scoring for Wisconsin two minutes into the 4-1 victory. Kranz found a rebound and beat Minnesota State senior goalie Britni Kehler for the 1-0 lead.
After Maverick senior defenseman Andreanne Thibault evened the score up late in the first period, Kranz began the second period by scoring her second goal of the game and third of the season to give Wisconsin the lead for good.
Sophomore forward Kyla Sanders and junior forward Erika Lawler scored for the Badgers to complete the 4-1 victory.
Wisconsin junior goalie Jessie Vetter made 17 saves for win No. 12 on the season. Vetter made 20 saves the next day as Wisconsin cruised to a 3-1 victory.
Junior forward Angie Keseley scored on a breakaway in the second period to put the Badgers on the board.
Lawler and freshman forward Hilary Knight scored in the third period for Wisconsin. Sophomore forward Kathleen Rosso scored the lone goal for Minnesota State with five seconds remaining in the game, preventing Vetter from recording the shutout.
With freshman forward Mallory Deluce playing for the Canadian Under-22 team in Ravensburg, Germany at the Air Canada Cup, and with sophomore forward Meghan Duggan out with a concussion she suffered before Winter break, Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson had the chance to start redshirt freshman forward Maria Evans and senior defender Mikka Nordby on the fourth line in each game.
Wisconsin improved to 14-6-2 overall and 10-4-2 in the WCHA with the sweep. The Badgers sit in fourth place in the WCHA standings, one point behind Minnesota and St. Cloud State for second place. The Badgers, however, have played two fewer games than the Golden Gophers and the Huskies.
The Badgers travel to Ohio State this weekend to face the fifth place Buckeyes. While the Buckeyes were highly touted heading into the season and feature two of the conference's top players in senior defenseman Tessa Bonhomme and senior forward Erin Keys, they have struggled in conference play and currently have a 7-8-3 WCHA record.
Wisconsin, which in a seven game span earlier this season won just one game, seems to have regained its winning ways and now boasts a four game winning streak getting a much needed sweep at North Dakota before the winter break and the aforementioned sweep of Minnesota State.
Ohio State earlier this season became the first team to take a point from Wisconsin since Minnesota-Duluth on Oct. 2, 2007, when the Badgers and Buckeyes tied 2-2 at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin and Ohio State will skate Friday and Saturday afternoon in Columbus before the Badgers return to Madison to face St. Cloud State next weekend.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
