The Wisconsin women's hockey team rebounded from its first loss of the season with two strong wins over the North Dakota Friday and Saturday.
Playing in their first home game since before winter break, the Badgers started fast against the Sioux with a 6-2 win Friday and a 7-2 victory Saturday.
In order to put that last weekend behind us, it was important for us to come out and have a big win,"" junior right wing Meghan Duggan said. Duggan posted three goals and two assists in the two games and was one of seven Wisconsin players to score Saturday.
The series also saw the return of UW head coach Mark Johnson, who missed the Minnesota-Duluth series to coach the under-18 U.S. women's team to a gold medal in the International Ice Hockey Federation championship in Germany.
With Johnson back in Madison, the Badgers got their offense going quickly in Friday's game, as sophomore left wing Hilary Knight scored 38 seconds into the first period to give the Badgers a 1-0 advantage.
Knight would add another goal in the second, and the Badgers eventually built a substantial 6-0 lead. Two late goals were all North Dakota could do to avoid the shutout.
The late momentum provided little energy for North Dakota in the start of Saturday's game. Early on the Sioux could not contain the Wisconsin offense, even when the Badgers were down a player.
The Badgers led 1-0 after Duggan's third goal of the series when a penalty gave the Sioux an opportunity to tie the game on a power play. However, two short-handed goals from sophomore forward Mallory Deluce and junior forward Kyla Sanders in under a minute put Wisconsin up 3-0.
""[They] really changed the momentum of the game,"" Johnson said of the short-handed goals. ""If you're on the other side of the equation, it deflates you.""
In the second period, the Sioux scored to shrink the Badgers' lead and were threatening to force themselves back into the game with another goal. But a fast response from Wisconsin shut down the North Dakota threat with two more goals in rapid succession.
Wisconsin junior forward Jasmine Giles and freshman forward Carolyne Prevost both scored within a minute to put the game out of reach. Goals from senior forward Angie Keseley and junior forward Emily Kranz finished off the balanced Badger scoring - each of Wisconsin's seven goals was scored by a different player.
After the game, Johnson complimented the team's depth.
""Everybody's chipping in and doing their part, [and] that makes it difficult to hold us back,"" he said.
The Badgers now travel to St. Cloud State for a series Jan. 23 and 24 before returning home to face Ohio State Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Wisconsin won both games of its most recent series against the Huskies in December and also swept the Buckeyes in October.
However, Johnson said that in the second half of the season the road to a national title will get tougher.
""People are coming after you,"" Johnson said. ""You're not going to get any team's 'B' game; you're going to get their 'A' game every night.""
