This weekend, No. 1 Wisconsin (8-0-0 WCHA, 10-0-0 overall) returns to action by traveling to face conference opponent Minnesota-Duluth (2-4-0, 4-6-0) after a needed break.
“We're coming off an off-weekend which for the group is real good. Ten games in, five weekends of hockey,” said head coach Mark Johnson. “Took this past weekend off, and gives an opportunity as players to reflect and coaches to reflect on where we are at this particular point, and as we move forward five more weekends before we hit Christmas break, so it came at a good time. The players are in a good place.”
The Badgers, though, have seemed to be in a good place all season, as they go into the matchup having not surrendered a goal in the past 26 periods of regulation. Junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, the WCHA Defensive Player of the Month, is a large part of the successful shutout streak, standing just seven minutes and 40 seconds short of UW legend Jessie Vetter’s NCAA record.
When asked if the streak is something that crosses her mind Desbiens asserted, “It’s
not something I think about. I just go one shot at a time. It’s not something you can plan. We don’t have power over that. We break the game down and for me it’s one shot at a time.”
The record means less to Desbiens personally than the overall team performance.
“It’s a team effort,” Desbiens said. “There’s nothing you can do without your teammates in front of you. I think it would be good for the team but for me personally it doesn’t mean much.”
UMD is always a formidable opponent in the eyes of both Johnson and Desbiens.
“They've played pretty well, new players trying to create more ice time maybe individually to impress the new coach and a new staff,” Johnson said. “But as I mentioned earlier, the one thing I know, when Wisconsin plays Duluth, generally the games are pretty tight and very competitive.”
Desbiens reflected her coach’s perspective stating, “They work super hard. The games against them are always tight. I remember last year we had a 0-0 tie against them. They are going to put pressure and they have some skills offensively. We need to pay attention to details, block some shots and communicate.”
Sophomore forward Emily Clark and junior forward Sarah Nurse are returning to collegiate action after competing for Canada in the Four Nations Cup, an elite international tournament. It was Clark’s third appearance in the international event and Nurse’s first.
Nurse sharpened her skills while she was across the pond and thinks her progress will carry over and help her team.
“I went and learned a lot of new things, just little tactics and stuff. My coaches were really helping me out and I think bringing that back to the team will be really beneficial,” Nurse said.
The team will leave Madison early Thursday morning to travel to Duluth for back-to-back games Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m.
