Western Collegiate Hockey Association

Feb. 6, 2007

Success is always more satisfying if you have to work hard to achieve it, and a lot of times this season it has seemed that the Wisconsin Badgers haven't had to work too hard to roll through a sensational Women's-WCHA season. But it took near-perfect hockey, and a never-ending two nights of hard work to fight off the University of Minnesota Duluth for a 1-1 tie and a stunning 2-1 victory in a pair of overtime thrillers.

The Badgers knew they would be in for a severe test at the DECC, because UMD is the only team to have inflicted a loss on this season's Big Red Machine this season. That came in a 2-0 victory back about Thanksgiving time, and Wisconsin came back to win 1-0 the next night, and start a run that has now reached 12-0-3. That runs the Badgers up to a 19-1-4 league season and an amazing 25-1-4 overall ledger.

The showdown series of the season was exactly that, as Wisconsin needed at least three points in the two games to capture its second straight league title, and UMD was the only team that could still overtake the Badgers - who last year followed the WCHA title by also winning the league playoff and the NCAA women's hockey championship. Wisconsin's 19-1-4 mathematically clinched first place over UMD (15-6-3), which still has a huge series against Minnesota coming up to decide second place.

Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson enjoyed watching the game, and games, and while his team's second straight WCHA crown seemed only an exponent of the spectacle of the games themselves, Johnson also knows there are more challenges to come. He also said he rather enjoys Wisconsin's No. 2 rank in national polls, behind Mercyhurst - Mercyhurst? - because it leaves an extra carrot of incentive dangling out ahead, and the WCHA's fierce competition gives its top teams an edge.

"I told my team that both teams will benefit from this," said Johnson. "This was typical of a playoff or NCAA game. Look at the games we've had with Duluth. We've had to battle at both ends of the ice, and our games have been 2-0, 1-0, 1-1, and 2-1. Duluth has the capacity of beating anyone."

Asked about Mercyhurst, Johnson was typically diplomatic. "They're No. 1, and that's fine," he said. "But whoever gets there from our league will benefit from this."

The weekend was a showcase of tense, playoff hockey. In the first game, UMD scored a last-minute goal to tie the Badgers 1-1, as UMD freshman goaltender Kim Martin dueled Jessie Vetter through 65 minutes. Martin had by far the tougher duty, making 32 saves, while the Badgers smothered the Bulldogs to make Vetter's night easier, with only 13 stops.

UMD, still playing without four injured regulars, including dynamic senior and leading scorer Jessica Koizumi, played a much stronger game in the Saturday rematch. Thanks to goaltender Riitta Schaublin, who more than upheld her end of senior night with 39 saves, the Bulldogs traded rushes with the smooth-running Badger machine for almost the entire game, following the same script with a late goal to forge a 1-1 tie for the second night in a row.

The games were so fast and clean that they could have been penalty-free, but both teams seemed somewhat frustrated with the selection of penalties, not the least of which was a tripping call to UMD defenseman Ashly Waggoner at 1:14 of the five-minute overtime. Still, UMD freshman Emmanuelle Blais was the recipient of a rare Wisconsin turnover 15 feet in front of the Badger goal, and she had a startling shorthanded open break, but Wisconsin senior Christine Dufour came up with a huge save, her 28th of the game.

"I almost had a heart attack," said Johnson. "But our goalie makes the big save."

Moments later, Meaghan Mikkelson fed an outlet pass ahead to Meghan Duggan, who relayed a perfect feed to Jinelle Zaugg, a 6-foot-1 junior winger with a reach that seems to be the only thing longer than her great skating stride. Zaugg was crossing the neutral zone, left to right, at full speed when she caught the pass, and UMD coach Shannon Miller said later: "I knew we were in trouble as soon as she caught that pass, because she has such great reach."

Zaugg cut into the UMD zone, outflanked the retreating defense, and cut across the goal-mouth, right to left. Schaublin, a 6-footer with great reach herself, stayed with her almost all the way to the far, left pipe - almost. Zaugg sent her forehand shot just between Schaublin's skate and the left pipe for a power-play goal at 2:02 of the overtime, and Wisconsin had secured a 2-1 victory.

Oh, and by the way, the WCHA season championship along with it.

Not that you'd know it by talking to coach Johnson after the game, because the game itself was all-consuming. "It was a good play all around, with 27 (Mikkelson) moving the puck up to 7 (Duggan), and she got it over to Jinelle. She had speed and momentum, and she's got that long reach, and she needed every bit of it."

Maybe using numbers is the easiest way to keep his Meaghan/Meghan combination straight, but they are typical of the consistently outstanding style of play Johnson has installed with the Badgers in every zone. They can defuse an equal opponent, and smother a lesser one. They defend their net with poise and precision, with a blue line crew led by co-captain Bobby-Jo Slusar and Mikkelson, both seniors. The two have been vital to the offense - Mikkelson with 8-29--36, and Slusar with 10-17--27 - while the other four defensemen haven't scored a single goal, but they defend goaltenders Vetter and Dufour mightily.

Up front, Sara Bauer - one of six seniors on the team and last year's Patty Kazmaier Award winner - has been both an inspirational and productive leader with 18-34--52, while her junior left winger, Zaugg, a junior, is one of five homestate Wisconsin players, is the team's goal-scoring leader with 21-15--36. Freshman right winger Duggan stands at 20-19--39 after her goal and assist in the 2-1 victory. The other three lines contribute great balance and also show the benefit of Johnson's smooth-fitting machine, whether breaking out of their end, sweeping across the neutral zone, or pinning foes into the offensive end with a stifling and supportive forecheck.

Bauer is only 5-foot-3, almost a foot shorter than Zaugg, but Bauer doesn't look short, not with Erika Lawler coming out at center on the following shift. Lawler, a sophomore, is only 5-foot-0, but adds a quick, smart impact. She has 7-23--30, with her 23'rd assist on the first goal in the Saturday game, when she recovered the puck on a rush and fed Duggan, who carried in on the left side and drilled a perfect shot, high to the far side, to beat Schaublin with :59 seconds remaining in the first period.

That goal, giving Wisconsin a 1-0 lead, climaxed a stirring period. The Badgers had a 12-11 edge in shots, and, as Johnson said, "They could put a video of that away as a showcase for women's hockey."

The 1-0 lead stood through the second and third periods, although Schaublin had to be brilliant to stop repeated attacks in the scoreless second period, when Wisconsin had a 16-5 edge in shots. It was 12-12 in the third. "For the first four or five minutes of the game, we had a good pace, but then in the next seven or eight minutes, they had four real good scoring chances," said Johnson, recalling the flow of the game as if he had it on video inside his head. "

From UMD's standpoint, the Senior Night performance was highly emotional, even though speedy 5-foot-2 sophomore Michaela Lanzl had a spectacular weekend. "We have no superstars on this team, just a super team," said coach Miller. "We still have four players out, and with the depleted roster we had, this was a great weekend for us. We had to go and go, push and push. We gave it everything we had, and I'll take it - going into overtime both nights against Wisconsin."

The two games were similar, but different. In the first game, Emily Kranz beat Martin with a high backhander from the right side after one of dozens of scrambles at the UMD crease, and the goal came with 2:03 left in the first period. Martin then held the fort, as Wisconsin buttoned the Bulldogs into their own end, outshooting them 9-1 in the period. UMD didn't get its first shot of the third period until midway through, meaning the 'Dawgs got only one shot for a full 30-minute span in the middle of the game.

"They outplayed us, and outshot us," Miller said. "But sometimes you could have 100 shots and not score, but as long as it stayed 1-0, we didn't need a lot of shots - we just needed one goal."

The break came when Wisconsin iced the puck, a rare flaw, in the final minute. Miller got Martin out of the game for a sixth attacker. "First, you obviously have to win the draw, then get the shot through," said Miller.

Saara Tuominen, a freshman from Finland, won the right corner faceoff, and got the puck to Elin Holmlov, a freshman forward from Sweden who was at center point. After countless UMD shots had been blocked by Wisconsin's bunching defense, Holmlov found an opening and sent a hard wrist shot through traffic. Vetter spotted the puck late, but blocked the shot. But Noemie Marin, another of UMD's seniors, backhanded the rebound in with 47 seconds remaining for the 1-1 tie.

The second game similarities were that Duggan also gave Wisconsin a 1-0 lead late in the first period, and UMD again scored late in the third, this time when Tawni Mattila won a right-corner faceoff, and the puck got bunted back to Finnish freshman Heidi Pelttari, who fired a shot. The puck came out to Karine Demeule, whose 11^th goal of the season was the 1-1 equalizer. This time, however, Zaugg brought victory to the Badgers.

"Again we ended up with a faceoff in our end, and now it's tied," said the relieved Johnson. "The game had everything - two senior goaltenders, one from Quebec (Dufour) and the other (Schaublin) from Switzerland, battling each other toe-to-toe. And after two games, it took a power-play goal in overtime for one team to win."

That one team was Wisconsin, and the victory, slim as it was, was all that separated two teams that had battled 1-1-1 for the season until that overtime. And while the two teams might renew their rich and intense rivalry at playoff time, or in the NCAA tournament, or both, that slim victory on the first weekend of February was good enough for the WCHA championship.