The Wisconsin women's hockey team is escaping the frigid weather of Madison this weekend and heading to Fort Myers, Fla., to face the University of New Hampshire.
The Badgers remain unanimously ranked No. 1 in the nation after their sweep of North Dakota last weekend. The series is a homecoming for junior forward Kyla Sanders, who is from Fort Myers and whose dad is the manager of the Fort Myers Skatium.
Paul Hickman, director of women's hockey operations, and Kyla's dad successfully worked out a plan to bring the game to Florida. Kyla couldn't be more excited.
It should be a good atmosphere, we should have a lot of fans,"" Sanders said. ""[My dad] and Paul were talking about it and it's awesome that it ended up being down there.""
Over the last couple years the Lady Badgers have easily been one of the top programs in the country, but one accomplishment they have not yet secured is beating the University of New Hampshire. In fact, in the history of the UW women's hockey, no team has defeated the Wildcats.
In 2005 they fell to the Wildcats 2-1 and then last year they lost two hard fought games that also ended with New Hampshire winning 2-1. Head coach Mark Johnson informed the ladies of the history between the two teams and the Badgers are hoping to clear another hurdle for the program.
Senior forward and captain Erika Lawler realizes that the warm weather is a possible distraction, but she is confident that her team will stay focused.
""Our main focus is to go there and play a couple hockey games. We don't want to get caught up in the vacation aspect of the trip,"" said Lawler. ""I think what we need to focus on is going out with some speedy first periods, some energy, kind of put them back on their heels for a little bit.""
Lawler has been impressed with the play of freshman forward Brooke Ammerman. She is second on the team in points and goals scored with 19 and 14, respectively.
""[Ammerman] can score on demand which is awesome and its vital for big games,"" she said.
The series will be the third time this season Wisconsin will play a team in the top ten. The Wildcats are No. 3 in the current USCHO.com poll and have an overall record of 7-1-3. Sophomore forward Jenn Wakefield leads the team in points accumulating 16 in only nine games.
The Badgers have been a dominant team so far this season but they are still looking to improve as a unit. Getting complacent with their play can lead the team to plateau. Johnson believes that the team has the potential to play even better that they are now.
""I think you stride to challenge yourself, you try to be the best team you're capable of becoming, that's what the journey is,"" Johnson said. ""I like what we're seeing, I'm seeing improvement each weekend.""
With a sweep of the Wildcats, the Lady Badgers will improve their record to 14-0-2, the longest undefeated streak to begin a season in the program's history.
