After a very successful homestand in which they went 6-0-0, the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (6-2-0 WCHA, 8-2-0 overall) are hitting the road for a weekend tournament in Vail, Colo.
The Badgers are one of four teams (St. Cloud State, Boston University and Northeastern) that will make the trip to play in the tournament at the Dobson Ice Arena as a part of National Collegiate Ice Hockey Weekend.
Vail is not a new place for UW head coach Mark Johnson; he coaches the annual Bob Johnson Hockey School, which was started years ago by his father.
Coach Johnson played a huge role in getting the tournament together, but the games aren’t the only part of the weekend.
Johnson will be hosting a youth hockey clinic on Sunday morning, followed by an autograph signing session with Badger players.
“We’ve done [the hockey camp] in the past, and each time we’ve done it, it’s just a shot in the arm for women’s hockey and girl’s programs in those areas,” Johnson said. “We’re going to showcase Division I women’s hockey in an area that hasn’t had it before.”
While the team is definitely looking forward to helping out with the clinic, they also know they will face two formidable opponents when they go against Northeastern and Boston University.
UW’s weekend starts on Friday night when it faces the Northeastern Huskies (2-3-1 WHEA, 5-6-1), who are coming off a loss to No. 5 Boston College last Sunday.
The Huskies record may look less than impressive, but they have played well against some tough opponents, including an overtime loss to Wisconsin’s other opponent this weekend, Boston University.
The Badgers will meet the Terriers (6-0-0 WHEA, 9-1-0) on Saturday night in what could be UW’s biggest test since it faced No. 1 Minnesota.
BU is currently on a seven-game winning streak and are among the nation’s best in most categories, including offense, defense and goaltending.
The Terriers’ offense is extremely balanced, with nine different players having five or more points. Overall, they score 3.55 goals per game, the sixth-highest total in the country.
Their defense has been just as good, only giving up 1.64 goals per game, which is seventh-best in the NCAA. A big reason for their success is senior goaltender Kerrin Sperry. Sperry has been rock solid in the net, with a save percentage of .950.
The Badgers of course have been very successful as well, having won six straight games, and having one of the nation’s best goaltenders, senior Alex Rigsby.
With two wins, Rigsby could tie the school record for career wins, currently held by former women’s hockey goaltender Jessie Vetter.
Though she has been spectacular throughout her career and has worked extremely hard to reach the level of success that she has, Rigsby was quick to credit her teammates for helping her close in on the wins record.
“I think that’s more of a team record, I’ve been fortunate enough to play with successful teams so far,” Rigsby said. “It just shows how fortunate I have been to play on great teams, and reflects the program we have here at Wisconsin.”
For UW, they hope to not only continue their run of success on the ice this weekend, but to be able to be good ambassadors for women’s hockey in a place that doesn’t have a Division I program.
“It’s growing the sport and taking our product to an area that doesn’t have college hockey, and showcasing it. It’s really a win-win situation,” Johnson said. “I know we’ll have packed houses in all four games, and they’ll walk out of the rink with their mouths down realizing how good these players are.”
