A lot can change in seven months.
Last March, the Wisconsin women's hockey team had its bid at a third consecutive national title spoiled by the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. In a game played in the Bulldogs' home arena, UMD shut out the Badgers 4-0, dominating almost every facet of the game.
Since then, the tables have turned. Wisconsin, who came into last spring's championship game as an underdog, is now a unanimous No. 1 in the polls and is leading the nation in almost every statistical category. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, have struggled early this season, sporting a 4-3-1 record (2-3-1 in the WCHA).
That does not mean that the Badgers have forgotten what happened the last time they met UMD.
Obviously that was a stinger for us,"" junior forward Meghan Duggan said. ""We didn't win, so I think it gives us a little extra hate to go into the battle with.""
After a dramatic 2-1 win against No. 2 Minnesota last Sunday, fans might expect Wisconsin to relax against a UMD team in the midst of a tough stretch. Regardless of their record, though, the Bulldogs are still the defending national champions, and that has the Badgers focused on the task at hand.
""Because we know Duluth is such a strong team, our number-one focus is to not be complacent,"" senior forward Erika Lawler said. ""[If we] go into the game knowing we can't be complacent, I think that it's definitely going to work out for the best.""
There is no doubt that the Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them when they step on the ice at the Kohl Center this weekend. Wisconsin ranks second in the nation in scoring offense, scoring defense and scoring margin. Cornell, the team ahead of the Badgers in those three categories, has only played two games this season.
After seeing her team outscore its opponents 55-9 so far this year, senior goaltender Jessie Vetter is happy with the offense being played in front of her.
""I'm very excited to see how well our offense is doing,"" Vetter said. ""Hopefully that continues. It's good to see.""
Another key to Wisconsin's success this season has been its play on special teams. The Badgers are first in the nation in terms of power-play conversions, scoring more than 36 percent of the time.
""We've been doing a bunch of different things on the power play,"" Duggan said. ""With the people that we have on our power play, it's really easy for us to [adjust]. We can adjust to what the other team's [penalty] kill is doing and move around them to find the seams and find the openings.""
Ultimately, Wisconsin looks to keep the momentum going from last weekend's series with Minnesota and hopes to increase its lead in the WCHA standings.
""We're coming off a really good weekend against Minnesota,"" Duggan said. ""Hopefully Duluth brings their game. We'll bring our game, and it'll be a good battle.""
Faceoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday at the Kohl Center.
