Badgers Sweep No 1 Robert Morris to End Regular Season
March 6: The Badgers dropped No 1 ranked Robert Morris 3 to 1 on Saturday night and 1 to 0 on Sunday in ACHA play at the Capitol Ice rink in Middleton, WI. The two team played six games during the regular season and the Badgers were able to post a 3 - 2 - 1 record over their Illinois rival. The Badgers finish the regular season with a record of 13 - 7 - 1 (13 - 6 - 1 in the ACHA).
Game 1: Cyndi Wisted got the Badgers on the board midway through the first period, however on the very next shift, Robert Morris scored on an odd man rush with a shot that beat Dickman over the blocker. Nicole Krumrei picked up a rebound on a Amy Colaizy shot to put the Badgers up 2 - 1 in the first. After a scoreless second period, Katie Ball took advantage of an errant Robert Morris defensive zone pass and walked in all alone and beat the RM goalie to put Bucky up 3 to 1. Although RM outshot the Badgers 28 to 24, but Dickman was solid in the nets again making save after save.
Game 2: Although the Badgers were outshot 23 to 11, Laura Dickman was able to come up with the puck every time (earning her 8th shutout of the season). Moreover, the Badger team defense was solid forcing most shots from the outside. Captain Erinn Ficken scored the only Badger goal after taking a pass from Ball and Wisted after a strong offensive attack.
Badgers Sweep Gophers on the Road
Feb 29: The UW Badger club hockey team completed a season sweep over the University of Minnesota Gophers. The two wins improve Bucky's overall record to 11 - 7 - 1 and 11 - 6 - 1 in the ACHA. The UW will face off against No. 1 ranked Robert Morris on Saturday and Sunday as the Badgers conclude the regular season.
Game 1: The U of M twice jumped out to leads of 1 - 0 and 2 - 1, but not before Nicole Krumrei netted the Badgers second goal of the game to tie the game at two at the end of the first period. A very flat first period Badger team picked up the pace to finish out the game lead by hat tricks from Nicole Krumrei and Cyndi Wisted and a pair of goals from Katie Ball. Although the UW managed to win 9 - 3, the Badgers only outshot the U of M 28 to 17.
Game 2: It was all Wisconsin in game two as the Badgers dropped Minnesota 6 - 0. Alison Rademaker got the Badgers on the boards early while Cyndi Wisted and Lindsey Lahr both netted a pair of goals in the route. Laura Dickman earned her 7th shutout of the season stopping all 16 shots while the Badgers fired 41 at the Gopher net.
UW earns 4th Straight trip to ACHA Nationals
The Badgers enter their fourth straight National Tournament appearance (Note: Only Penn State has appeared as many times). The UW will play Northern Michigan and Lindenwood University in the preliminary rounds. Learn more about the ACHA National Tournament here.
Michigan
State Edges Badgers Twice
UW earns 4th Straight trip to ACHA Nationals
Feb 20: The fifth ranked Badgers dropped a pair of ACHA games on the road to the defending ACHA National Champions 3 to 2 in both games. The last time these two teams met was in the 2003 championship game where MSU defeated the Badgers to win the National Title.
The losses drop the Badgers to 9 - 7 - 1 overall and 9 - 6 - 1 in the ACHA... a record that is a far cry from where the Badgers were at this junction last season (21 - 3 - 3 in 2003). However, strength of schedule and wins over Robert Morris and Lindenwood has landed the Badgers back into the National Tournament for the fourth straight year (Only St. Cloud has appeared as many times). The UW will play St. Cloud State and Lindenwood University in the preliminary rounds.
The Badgers came out flying against MSU picking up two PP goals early in the game to take a 2 - 0 lead on goals from Ficken and Ball. The Cyndi Wisted almost made it 3 - 0, but Lindsey Larh was called for man in the crease nullifying the goal. MSU took advantage of neutral zone pass and rushed in alone on Laura Dickman putting the puck over her glove to make it 2 - 1. The Badgers started to flatten out by mid-second period and MSU capitalized on a one-timer to tie the game. Early in the third, the Spartans again scored on a one-timer taking the lead for good. Penalties late in the third nullified any late scoring chances for the Badgers. MSU outshot the Badgers 29 - 16.
In game two, just the opposite happened. A flat Badger team was outshot 17 - 4 in the first period and gave up 3 MSU goals. It would seem like it was all over, but in the second period Katie Ball pumped a shot past MSU goalie Jen Fine. Then late in the third period, Katie Pasell picked up a goal to bring the Badgers within one. That would be it though as the UW could not bury any late chances. The Badgers battled the penalty box taking 21 minutes in penalties and were out shot 31 to 24 in the loss.
"We're not there yet. We haven't showed up to play a full game and penalties are killing us. The good thing is we have a few weeks to remedy this." - uschan
The UW travels to Minnesota next weekend to take on the Gophers in a two-game series at Marruicci Arena.
Badgers Split with NMU
Feb 14: The fifth ranked Badgers split a home series with eleventh ranked Northern Michigan Wildcats in ACHA action this past weekend. Although the Badgers drew first blood in game one, penalty trouble gave NMU the spark they needed to rally 2 PP goals against a flat Badger team. The Badgers fired 22 shots alone in the third period, but could not beat NMU's goaltender Tara Trombly...NMU picked up their third goal on an empty net. Katie Pasell picked up the solo goal for the Badgers while Laura Dickman stopped 29 of 31.
The Badgers showed up on Sunday and played like a No. 5 ranked team by jumping out to a two-goal first period lead while outshooting NMU 14 - 6. Lindsey Lahr netted both first period goals on rebounds. Alison Rademaker took a neutral zone pass from Katie Ball in the second for a breakaway goal to put the Badgers up 3 - 0. NMU got on the board early in the third, but Rademaker returned the favor to Ball, who walked in and riffled a shot off of Trombly's glove and into the net. The Badgers outshot NMU 35 to 22 in the win.
"We did not execute on Saturday. We had chances, but Trombly came up big. They needed to win to keep playoff hopes alive and we took Saturday for granted.... We lacked attitude and took a lot penalties (12) which took away from our game. On Sunday, we played our game for three periods and stayed away from the nonsense. That was the difference between Sat and Sun." - Uschan
This weekend concludes games that will count towards national rankings. The Badgers will wait to see where they will finish in the final rankings. Meanwhile, the UW travels to face Michigan State Univ in East Lancing, MI on Feb 20 and 21.
Madison Capitols U-19 Team Drops UW
Feb 7: In non-ACHA play, the Madison Capitols U-19 team defeated the UW 6 - 1. The Badgers who were skating with only 8 skaters and a goalie managed only 8 shots on the net. Meanwhile the young and talented Capitol team skating with 3 full lines fired 53 shots at goaltender Melissa Wilking. Playing without three of their four defensemen (Ficken, Colaizy, and Williams) and forward Pasell, the Badgers managed some excellent scoring opportunities, but lacked the energy to finish. Lindsey Lahr was the lone Badger to find the back of the net and Wilking was awesome in the nets with many ESPN-like highlight saves.
The Badgers face Northern Michigan in ACHA action at the Shell on Feb 14-15. This will be the final ACHA series that counts toward National Rankings.
Badgers Roll Over the Gophers
Feb 1: The fifth ranked Wisconsin Badgers moved its unbeaten streak to six games as they dropped the University of Minnesota with a pair of 9 - 0 losses. The sweep puts the UW at 8 - 3 - 1 in the ACHA. The Badgers return to ACHA action in two weeks against Northern Michigan at the Shell in Madison.
Game 1: Lindsey Lahr, Katie Ball and Kari Williams all scored a pair of goals while goaltender Laura Dickman stopped all 13 shots to earn the shutout. The Badgers outshot UM 33 to 13 in the win.
Game 2: The Badgers opened up the scoring just 20 seconds into the game on the first of three Alison Rademaker goals. Ball and Lahr both again contributed with a pair of goals and Dickman again earned the shutout stopping just 15. Wisconsin managed to open up a 8 to 0 lead with 10:31 remaining in the second period and outshot the U of M 27 to 15 in the win.
The Badgers face Minnesota again on February 28th & 29th in Minnesota at the Mariucci Arena.
Badgers Sweep UW-Whitewater
Jan 25: The Badgers dropped UW-Whitewater 10-0 and 15-0 in ACHA action this weekend. The pair of wins extends the UWs unbeaten streak to 4 games and also marks Laura Dickman's forth shutout of the season. The No 5 ranked Badgers will face the University of Minnesota at the Shell on Jan 31 and Feb 1.
The UW opened both games with big scoring in the first period (6-0 & 9-0), but toned down the offensive attack as the games progressed. Along with Dickman's pair of shutouts, Katie Ball, Lindsey Lahr and Erin Ficken netted hat tricks on the weekend. The Badgers outshot UW-W 91 to 12 in the series.
The pair of wins ups Wisconsin's record to 6-3-1 in the ACHA.
Badgers
Successful Against 3rd Ranked Robert Morris -
UW moves up two spots in the National Rankings
Dec 8: After dropping two games to Robert Morris in ACHA action on Nov 15-16th, the seventh ranked Badgers tallied 3 goals and gave up only 1 handing Robert Morris their first ACHA loss. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie on Sunday to close out the weekend.
Despite a 4-3-1 record, the Win and Tie against 3rd ranked Robert Morris moves the Badgers up two spots to #5 in the ACHA National rankings and to the #1 position in the ACHA Western Division.
Game 1: Leah Johnson of Robert Morris went full ice to open the scoring, but that would be all the offense they could mustard up. Goaltender, Laura Dickman and the Badger defense were stellar holding Robert Morris to only 11 shots for the game. Cindy Wisted tied the game in the first period after what seemed to be a three minute forecheck by the Badgers. Molly McFall got the game winner when she found the back of the net slapping a lose puck past the Robert Morris goaltender. Katie Ball added insurance with a well executed power play goal from teammates Katie Pasell and Kari Williams to put the Badgers 3 to 1.
Game 2: Robert Morris', Johnson again opened the scoring on a shot that beat Dickman, but again the UW tender was solid in the nets stopping 13 of 14 including a 3rd period breakaway. The Badger's looked flat for two periods and could not find the net until 6:20 left in the game when Freshman, Cindy Wisted banged in a lose puck to tie the game. The Badgers dominated the 3rd period with 8 shots, but could only come up with one goal. UW outshot Robert Morris 22 to 14 in the tie.
"Robert Morris is a good team with some fast players, however having a full team and our number one goalie for this series made a big difference from a few weeks ago (pertaining to the two previous losses where we only had nine skaters). Had the second game gone to OT, I felt we would have won that one too. We were just not sharp in the first two periods of that game. Going into break at 4-3-1, I feel good about our team. We have beat some of the top ACHA teams, however we still have a lot of work in front of us if we want to play in the big game at the end of the season." --Coach Uschan
Badgers Drop Series Against Robert Morris
Nov 15: The Badgers Women's Club Hockey team dropped two ACHA games against Robert Morris University in Chicago, IL. The two losses leave the UW at 3-3-0 overall and in the ACHA. The two teams will meet up again December 6th and 7th at the Shell in Madison.
Game 1: Skating with only 9 players, the Badgers gave up three third period goals in the 3-0 loss. Robert Morris came out flying and never backed down. Their transition game through the neutral zone provided them with many opportunities, but UW goaltender, Melissa Wilking, came up with save after save. The Badgers had a lot of good scoring opportunities, but could not find the net. Robert Morris scored their first goal on a screen shot from the point. They then picked up two more on odd man rushes against a tiring UW defense.
Game 2: The same nine players cut a 2-0 deficit in the second period on a powerplay goal from Cindy Wisted, however that would be all Wisconsin score even though they outshot Robert Morris 22 to 20. Wisconsin's forecheck kept Robert Morris in their end often and overall defense play was tighter while Wilking was again superb in the nets. The Badgers pulled Wilking with under a minute to play, but could not capitalize with the extra attacker.
"I was not disappointed with our play this weekend. We had a small team (9 skaters) and Robert Morris was deep (14 skaters). We played a much better game on Saturday night having not just stepped off the bus as we did Friday night. Both games were loosely officiated and pretty physical which wears on a small team. Robert Morris is a pretty good team, but I felt we could have won both games and that Robert Morris is a team we handle up here in Madison." - Coach Uschan
Bucky Splits with Lindenwood University
Nov 9: The Badgers Women's Club Hockey Team fell short in Saturday's contest losing 6 to 4, but dominated the Lions from Lindenwood on Sunday with a 5-1 victory. The split leaves the Badgers at 3-1 in the ACHA & overall with a two-game series coming up against Robert Morris in Chicago.
Game 1: The UW jumped to quick 2-0 first period lead with a pair of Cindy Wisted goals, but the Lions scored 4 unanswered second period goals to command a 4-2 lead. Two of four goals came from deflections off of Badger skates into the UW net. Katie Ball scored a second period goal in the second leaving the Badgers down by one. Alison Rademaker then tied the game on a third period Powerplay, but the Lions answered back with their own PP goal on a slapper from the slot that beat Dickman. Though the Badgers outshot Lindenwood 37 to 24, the Lions were able to tally one more to cap the 6 to 4 win.
Game 2: Five different Badgers scored goals and Dickman stopped 20 of 21 in the 5 to 1 win. Molly McFall netted her first career goal on a redirect from Katie Ball. Lindenwood netted their only goal on a crafty move that beat both defensemen and a shot over Dickman's glove. It would be all Badgers from there... Katie Pasell stepped up from the point to take a pass from Ficken then riffled a shot past Lions goalie Heather Mueller. Nicole Krumrei picked up her first of the season on a rebound goal off a 2 on 1 break from Lindsey Lahr. Alison Rademaker picked up her second goal of the weekend on a rebound to put the Badgers up 4-1. Ficken capped the scoring when she stepped out of the penalty box, intercepted a passand, split the defense for a breakaway and then powered a shot past Mueller to put the Badgers up 5-1.
"We were sloppy at times in the first game missing a lot of simple passes. Lindenwood has some strong forwards and they are a bigger team (size and depth), but we played our normal game on Sunday. Dickman was solid in goal, Rademaker had a good weekend and our overall team defense was much tighter." - Coach Uschan
Badgers Sweep ISU in Season Opener
Oct 27: The UW Women's Club Hockey picks up two ACHA wins against Iowa State at the Shell in Madison (3-0 win & 6-0 win).
Lindsey Lahr got the Badgers on the board early when she stole the puck at the blueline and beat ISU's Justine Skibbe on a breakaway. The UW would take 29 more shots on the ISU net, but could only come up with three total goals. Katie Ball picked up her first goal on a power play when she received a give-and-go pass and one-timed the pass into the back of the net. Ball also scored her second of the night on a wrap around from behind the net. UW ran into penalty troubles having to kill six minor penalties to keep ISU off the board. Goaltender Laura Dickman needed to make only 11 saves in the win, but had to come up with some nifty glove saves to shutout the Cyclones.
In game two, Cindy Wisted stole the show scoring four goals and Laura Dickman picked up her second straight shutout win. Wisted's highlight goal came on the powerplay on a give-and-go one timer from Ball working from behind the net. Ficken scored her first goal on a second period breakaway and Ball add to the lead on a rebound shot.
"We were definitely rusty this weekend and it showed. We made a lot of bad passes, but we got better the more we skated. I was extremely happy with everyone's efforts. We have a long way to go, but it will come together the more we skate as a team." - Coach Uschan.
Due to scheduling problems, the Badgers will not play UW-Lacrosse. The team faces Lindenwood University (St. Louis) on Nov 8 and Nov 9 at the Shell.
After Finishing 2nd in the 2002 ACHA Natl's, Badger Skaters Rebuild for Another Chance.
Sept 19: The UW Women's Club Hockey team will try to build from a 26-4-3 season last year finishing 2nd in the ACHA while only returning 7 players and adding 4 new ones. The Badgers will be without All-American Kat Arner in the nets and will miss key players like Gretchen Anderson, Melaine Schmidtt and Suzie Mattke.
Wisconsin builds from a strong foundation with returning players ACHA "Player of the year," Erin Ficken, ACHA All-American forward, Katie Ball who are joined with solid Junior performers Katie Pasell and Alison Rademaker. Laura Dickman brings experience from the East Coast between the pipes and Freshman Cindy Wisted brings a mix of scoring and speed. Wisconsin also builds on a winning tradition - Having won 50 of their last 60 games and playing the last game of the season for the National title two years in a row.
Uschan in his 5th year as Head Coach will try to lead his skaters back to a forth consecutive National Tournament appearance. "Last year was last year... we're starting over. We have a few new skaters that are pretty talented and we have a core of returning players that know the system. Each year, the Freshman get better and make the older players work harder. That makes us better. We have to improve each season if we want to compete... the talent in the league keeps getting better - Playing at last years level is like a step backwards."