Junior forward Carolyne Prevost does not get many opportunities to play in front of her family. So the Sarnia, Ontario, native made the most of her chance Friday, powering the Wisconsin offense to a 7-1 win, the first of two victories to open conference play.
With her parents and twin sister, as well as her friends and coach from taekwondo (Prevost is a fourth-degree black belt) in the crowd, Prevost scored a hat trick in the series opener and added another goal Sunday to help Wisconsin complete a sweep of Bemidji State.
""I never have fans,"" Prevost joked. ""Obviously, you want to play well in front of them. They've supported me throughout my whole life, so I just wanted to keep it up for them.""
Although the final score gives the impression the Badgers dominated Friday's game, that was far from the truth at the start of the game. Wisconsin looked listless on offense for the opening half of the first period, struggling to connect on passes and falling behind when Bemidji State scored on a power play.
That goal seemed to wake up the Badgers, however, as they pressured the Beavers' goal for the rest of the period and scored seven unaswered goals over the next two periods.
""We knew what Bemidji was bringing, and we seemed to finally respond when they scored a goal,"" head coach Mark Johnson said.
Wisconsin got off to a better start Sunday, but could not solve Beaver junior goaltender Zuzana Tomcikova. The Slovakian goalie frustrated the Badger offense for most of the night, and despite nearly constant pressure on the Bemidji end of the ice Wisconsin only had a one-goal lead halfway through the third period.
The Badgers' precarious lead was the result of Prevost's goal late in the first period, her fourth of the series and sixth of the young season. After some dangerous broken plays gave the Beavers a few chances to tie, sophomore forward Breann Frykas beat Tomcikova on her right side with ten minutes left in regulation to give Wisconsin a 2-0 lead.
Johnson complimented Tomcikova, who ended the game with 41 saves, and said he was happy with the patience his team showed in their closest win of the season.
""She's obviously a great goaltender, and we were obviously getting some quality opportunities,"" he said. ""You just have to be persistent and eventually the tables will turn and the puck will go in.""
