No. 1 Badgers look to close out 2008 unbeaten
December 03, 2008 | Women's Hockey
The unbeaten Wisconsin women's hockey team will host St. Cloud State Dec. 5-6 before taking a few weeks off for winter break. The Badgers look to extend their 18 game unbeaten streak with a series sweep to cap the first half of the season. The Badgers are ahead in the all-time series 31-5-2 against St. Cloud State. The Huskies have never beaten the Badgers at the Kohl Center. The last time the two teams met was last season when the Badgers swept the Huskies with scores of 4-1 and 4-0 at the Kohl Center.
This week at a glance
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. St. Cloud State @ the Kohl Center
Friday, Dec. 5 @ 2:07 p.m. (CT) ' Live Streaming ' Live Stats
Saturday, Dec. 6 @ 2:07 p.m. (CT) ' Live Streaming ' Live Stats ' WIBA (1310 AM)
Scouting the Opponent
- St. Cloud State is coming off of a bye week before taking on the top-ranked Badgers. The Huskies are currently on a five-game winning streak, which marks the longest win streak in school history. The streak includes series sweeps over Bemidji State and Minnesota State. The Huskies also went 1-0-1 in the series against Minnesota Duluth.
- The Huskies sit in third place in the WCHA and have been receiving votes in the latest polls. They are led by senior Megan McCarthy who has tallied seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points.
-Sophomore Ashley Nixon owns a 7-5-1 record and has three shutouts on the season for the Huskies in net. Nixon owns a 1.99 goals-against average.
Looking back
-Wisconsin swept Minnesota State in a scoring free-for-all. Wisconsin outscored the Mavericks 15-2.
-In the first game of the series athid=5204&deptid=138"> --> Jessie Vetter notched her 32nd career shutout and seventh of the season as the Badgers skated past the Mavericks 8-0. The Badgers had an explosive second period scoring six goals against MSU's Alli Altmann. Hilary Knight had a five-point game with two goals and three assists. athid=5660&deptid=138"> --> Erika Lawler and athid=5659&deptid=138"> --> Angie Keseley each had a two goal game.
-In the final game of the series three Badgers scored two goals as Wisconsin won 7-2. athid=5990&deptid=138"> --> Meghan Duggan increased her point-scoring streak to six games and athid=7240&deptid=138"> --> Brooke Ammerman to seven games. athid=5988&deptid=138"> --> Jasmine Giles had three assists while Duggan, Ammerman and athid=5991&deptid=138"> --> Kyla Sanders each had two goals and an assist.
Vetter in the record books
- Senior goalie Jessie Vetter holds the NCAA career shutout record. She reached her 31st shutout in a fitting fashion against New Hampshire to break UNH's goalie Melissa Bourdon's previous 30 career shutout record from her 2004-07 career.
- Vetter has had seven shutouts for the season with 311 saves only allowing 13 goals on the season. She is on pace to pass her previous best, 10 shutouts in a season.
- The four goals Vetter allowed in the game against Ohio State was the most goals she has ever allowed in a regular season game.
-Vetter has played the most minutes in net with 967:52. Although she is ranked second in the nation with a 0.81 GAA, winning percentage (.941), and save percentage (.960). Vetter is behind Carly Dominick-Sobol of Holy Cross who has played180 minutes this season.
-Vetter looks to reach her fourth-straight national championship game. Vetter is 8-1-0 in NCAA tournament contests, owns two national championships and holds NCAA records for most career shutouts (32) and shutouts in a season (10).
Going Streaking
-Wisconsin is currently on the longest unbeaten streak to start the season with 18 games. The Badgers prior streak was 14 games in 2006. Wisconsin's longest unbeaten streak, and NCAA record is 32 games and went through two seasons (2006-2007).
Among the elite
-Wisconsin is first in the nation for current unbeaten streak (18), scoring defense (0.94), scoring offense (5.17) team winning percentage (.944) and scoring margin (4.22). They are second in combined special teams (60%), power-play (33/101 - 32.7%), and penalty kill (93.8%). The only team ahead of them is Holy Cross who has only played in seven games this season going 6-0-1.
Knight stays on top
-Sophomore athid=6620&deptid=138"> --> Hilary Knight leads the team and the WCHA in point scoring (35), goal scoring (20), power play points (13) and power play goals (8). Knights 20 goals is more than anyone in the nation, Brooke Ammerman is second with 17 goals.
-Knight is ranked first in the nation for goals per game (1.25) and third in the nation for points per game (2.19). She is first in power-play goals with eight and tied for second in game-winning goals with three.
-Knight has earned at least one point in 14 out of the 16 games she has played in, She has five multi-goal games and nine multi-point games. Knight had an eight game point streak beating her previous streak of five games.
Spread the wealth
-After 18 games, Wisconsin has tallied 256 points and has out-scored opponents 93-17.
-Wisconsin proved its depth with the season opener against Quinnipiac with 11 different Badgers scoring thirty points. Through 18 games, 18 Badgers earned points, 11 in double digits and 12 have scored goals.
-Hilary Knight (20-15=35) leads the team in scoring even after missing two games. Between Knight and Ammerman they have scored 37 of the Badgers 93 goals. They have scored 40 percent of Wisconsin's goals through 18 games.
-Erika Lawler and Meghan Duggan continue to move up on the career points list. Lawler is tied in fifth with 138 total points, while Duggan is in eighth with 119.
-The offense has been explosive out-shooting opponents 638-359.
Good for second and third
- Wisconsin has made a habit of turning it on late as they have come-from-behind to win against Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth. The Badgers get better every period as they have scored most of their goals in the second (35) and third period (34) compared to 24 goals in the first.
No. 1
- Wisconsin remains in the top spot for the eighth week in a row, receiving all the first place votes in both the NAV=PL_03_01&id=198180"> --> USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll and the USCHO.com poll. The Badgers have remained ranked second or better all 11 weeks.
Power-play dominance
-The Badgers have had tremendous success on the power-play with a 32.7 conversion percent going 33-101. The Badgers are second in the nation on the power-play and in penalty kill.
-Wisconsin has only allowed five power play goals going 75-80 on the penalty kill at 93.8 percent. Jasmine Giles, Erika Lawler and Kyla Sanders each recorded short-handed goals this season.
Fresh talent
-The freshmen have proved valuable, making multiple contributions in every game. Between the three freshmen they have scored 49 points. Brooke Ammerman (25) leads the pack followed by athid=7243&deptid=138"> --> Carolyne Prevost (15) and defensemen athid=7241&deptid=138"> --> Brittany Haverstock (9).
-Ammerman had an impressive streak, when she scored at least one goal in seven consecutive games. The streak was snapped against Minnesota, but she has put up points in 14 out of the 17 games she has played in. Ammerman is one of three Badgers who had a seven-game goal streak.
-Ammerman ranks third on the team in points and second in goals (17-8=25). She is third in the nation and tied for first in the WCHA for points per game for rookies averaging 1.47. She is first in the nation for game-winning goals with five.
Defense remains strong
-The Badger defense is ranked first in the nation in scoring defense. The Badger scoring defense is led by senior athid=5661&deptid=138"> --> Alycia Matthews who has tallied 13 assists and one goal. Matthews is first in the WCHA for points per game for a defenseman averaging 0.78 through all games.
-The defense has limited opponents to 17 goals for the season. The Badgers also have nine shutouts on the season.
Noteworthy
-The 10 goals Wisconsin made against Quinnipiac marks the fifth consecutive year the Badgers have scored in double digits in a game.
-Wisconsin had a record-breaking night in its season opener. The 20 assists in the game marks a new team record for assists in a game.
-Three Badgers have recorded hat tricks this season. Sophomore Hilary Knight has two natural hat tricks this season and adding two more on top of that against Quinnipiac on Sept. 27. Knight is the only Badger to net five goals in a game. For the second year in a row, Knight recorded a hat trick against North Dakota on Nov. 16.
-Freshman Brooke Ammerman followed up with an impressive four-goal game against Syracuse in an 8-0 win. Ammerman is the third Badger in school history to have a four-goal game. The last time it was done was in 2006 by Cyndy Kenyon.
-Junior Kyla Sanders notched her first career hat trick against Bemidji State as the Badgers won 9-0.
Leading the WCHA
-Wisconsin reclaimed the 0809/wcstand/wchaw"> --> top spot in the WCHA one point over Minnesota. The Badgers still lead the conference in nearly every category.
-Wisconsin leads the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense, power play, penalty kill, special teams net, and goals allowed by periods.
Closing in on 200
- Head Coach staffid=149"> --> Mark Johnson is nearing his 200th win. Johnson is only eight wins away from 200 wins in his coaching career at Wisconsin.
