After an off week that saw four Badgers bring home gold medals, it is back to the ice this weekend for the Wisconsin women's hockey team.
Although the rest of the team enjoyed a weekend off, senior goaltender Jessie Vetter earned U.S. Player of the Game honors in the Four Nations Cup championship game last Sunday. Vetter made 30 saves as she and teammates Hilary Knight, Erika Lawler and Meghan Duggan helped Team USA to a 3-2 win over Canada and its first Four Nations Cup title since 2003. Knight led the U.S. squad in points five for the tournament.
Vetter absolutely stood on her head in every game that she played in,"" junior forward Meghan Duggan said. ""She played amazing.""
The players returning from Lake Placid will have to make the quick adjustment back to WCHA play as the Badgers travel to North Dakota this weekend to face the Fighting Sioux.
""It's a different game,"" Duggan said. ""It's tough to come back, but you have to work with what you have to work with and just jump back into the swing of things as fast as you can.""
The Sioux will look to present a challenge for Wisconsin. Though North Dakota has yet to beat the Badgers in the history of its program, the Sioux are off to a fast start this season.
After going 4-26-6 in his first year in Grand Forks, UND coach Brian Idalski and his team are 7-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the WCHA, good enough for third place in the standings.
""North Dakota's not the same team they've been in the past,"" head coach Mark Johnson said. ""They're off to a good start, [and] they've got a bunch of confidence. It'll be a really good test when [we] come out Saturday.""
North Dakota has made repeated efforts to slow the Badgers down in past years, primarily by trapping the puck in the neutral zone and corners.
""A lot of our opportunities are going to be created on just rolling out of the corners and a lot of cycling,"" Duggan said. ""When we go there, we'll just throw at them what we have.""
After having last weekend off, Johnson stressed that his team will have to come into the North Dakota series ready to play.
""The one thing about an off weekend is that it takes you out of your routine,"" Johnson said. ""[We] try to improve as a group, and we'll find out where we are at Saturday.""
After North Dakota's recent success, the Badgers know they cannot afford to take any team lightly.
""We can't take any games off,"" Vetter said. ""In our conference, every team is strong. Every night, you have to play your best. If you don't, you could easily lose that game.""
That said, the team knows all it has to do is stick to the game plan.
""If we just play our game - o the Wisconsin game, I'm sure we'll be fine,"" senior defender Alycia Matthews said.
Faceoff between the Badgers and Sioux is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
