There are some things that fans expect to see when the Wisconsin women's hockey team is on the ice. They expect to see crisp passing, breakout individual efforts, fantastic goals and among other things, they expect to see them win. And once again, the Badger women did not fail to deliver.
When the Fighting Sioux (15-9-2-0 WCHA, 17-10-3 overall) arrived in Madison, everyone was expecting a pair of close, exciting games that would challenge the Badgers (22-2-2-2, 28-2-2). UND entered the weekend holding on to the eighth and final WCHA playoff spot.
However, what happened Friday night set UND back in their playoff hopes. Wisconsin put three goals on the board in the first period, and went on to blank the Sioux by a final score of 5-0. To put things simply, the Badgers took it upon themselves to teach North Dakota how to play hockey.
Wisconsin's skaters put on a full showcase of their skills, while freshman goalie Alex Rigsby came up big when the Sioux threatened to take away her shutout. Friday night's game was highlighted by a hat trick from senior Meghan Duggan.
""We were able to play one of our most complete games of the season,"" head coach Mark Johnson said.
Prior to Sunday's game, the team's seniors were honored in a pregame ceremony. Emotions were high, but it was all business for Wisconsin on the ice.
The Badgers would strike first, scoring just over three minutes into the contest. With a penalty called on the play that produced the goal, Wisconsin was awarded a power play. Giving fans little time to celebrate their first goal, the Badgers put another one on the score sheet.
Starting the second period holding onto a 2-1 lead, the Badgers produced an onslaught of goals that brought the Sioux skaters into a state of frustration.
Despite the lopsided score, UND never seemed to give up. Fighting back from a 5-1 deficit, the Sioux managed to score a pair to make it 5-3. The Badger skaters responded well, netting two more of their own to extend their lead to four goals. In all, there were seven goals scored as Wisconsin took a 7-3 lead into the locker room at the end of the period.
After exchanging a pair of goals in the third, Wisconsin collected the 8-4 win, outscoring UND 13-4 over the weekend. The win was a very emotional one for the team, combined with honoring the seniors prior to the game; the team was presented the WCHA regular season champion trophy in a post game ceremony.
""We're playing for that group [the seniors],"" Johnson said.
