'These are fun weekends'
December 03, 2015 | Women's Hockey, Andy Baggot
The best the women's game has to offer face off again in latest Border Battle showdown
From the head coach on down, there will be no shortage of motivation when the unbeaten Badgers take on archrival Minnesota in the latest meeting between two programs at the top of the women's hockey world. | From Varsity Magazine
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
It's a subtle milestone that might help explain why Wisconsin women's hockey coach Mark Johnson has a unique tone to his voice this week.
Johnson has been a student-athlete, an assistant coach and a head coach at his alma mater, three very different stints that cover 22 years.
All told, Johnson has prepared to face archrival Minnesota 98 times: 14 as a player from 1976 to '79, 24 as a men's assistant from 1996 to 2002 and now 60 in his current assignment that began 14 years ago.
So Johnson is due to hit 100 when the Gophers come to town for a mammoth Western Collegiate Hockey Association series Friday and Saturday at LaBahn Arena.
Asked if his players would say there's a difference about him this week, the famously even-keeled Johnson demurred.
"I would hope not," he said. "I hope my preparation is the same."
But then the confessional door opened a crack.
"There probably is a little bit, you know, extra whatever, just because, you know, these are fun weekends," he said.
"I can't wait until Friday night. I know there will be a big crowd and those are the games and the days that are really exciting for everybody, especially when you play them in your barn."
The marquee series -- the programs have combined to claim nine of the last 12 NCAA titles -- represents the women's college game at its highest level.
Over here you have the top-ranked Badgers (16-0 overall, 10-0 in the WCHA) and their school-record-setting start. They have the best defense (0.38 goals allowed per game) and penalty-killing unit (97.9 percent kill ratio) in the nation.
Over there you have the third-rated Gophers (15-1, 11-1) and their status as defending national champion. They have the most lethal offense (6.06 goals per game) and electric power play (49 percent success rate) in the land.
If anyone would notice a difference in Johnson this week it's his daughter, Mikayla, a junior left winger.
"I think if anything he's a little more upbeat, a little bit more excited," she said. "It's hard not to be. I think everyone gets a little bit antsy for the weekend.
"I think he's got just a bigger smile on his face this week just trying to help everyone do the little things to take on this team."
Wisconsin is fresh off its 11th shutout of the season and its members believe they were tested emotionally and physically in a non-conference sweep of Dartmouth. Johnson said the 4-0 victory last Saturday was the most complete outing by his squad this season.
"History tells me, as a player, when I played against the Gophers, it didn't take much to get you motivated," Johnson said.
"We're in a good spot," he said. "It's just a matter of continuing what we've done up to this point and continuing to move forward."
The Gophers have the top three scorers in the nation, in terms of points per game, in right winger Dani Cameranesi, left winger Sarah Potomak and center Hannah Brandt. Since a 4-3 WCHA loss to ninth-ranked North Dakota on Oct. 30, those three have been on the same ultra-dangerous line.
That unit will try to find cracks in a Wisconsin defense spearheaded by junior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (14-0, 0.44 goals against average, 97.2 save percentage, nine shutouts), senior defenseman and captain Courtney Burke and junior defenseman Jenny Ryan.
Cameranesi has scored half of her 16 goals on the power play. That helps explain why Minnesota has converted at least twice with the man-advantage in eight outings thus far.
The overall special teams nod would seem to go to Wisconsin, though. Its power play is ranked sixth nationally at 25 percent and has killed off 38 straight opposing power plays, covering the last 12 games.
Curiously, the Gophers have struggled on the penalty kill. Their success ratio is 77.5 percent, which is uncharacteristically low.
The Badgers are led in scoring by sophomore right winger Annie Pankowski, who has 11 goals, 18 assists and 29 points. Her line includes sophomore center Emily Clark (12-7-19) and sophomore left winger Baylee Wellhausen (3-3-6).
Balance is the buzzword for this lineup. The current second line -- junior left winger Sarah Nurse, junior center Sydney McKibbon and freshman right winger Sophia Shaver -- has accounted for 20 goals while the third line -- freshman left winger Sam Cogan, senior center Erika Sowchuk and senior right winger Rachel Jones -- has combined for 18 conversions.
Shaver, from Wayzata, is the only Minnesotan on the Wisconsin roster. She said she didn't get a lot of attention from the Gophers -- no scholarship offer -- but that's OK.
"Wisconsin just seemed better," she said.
Listed at 5-foot-10, Shaver has six goals and is plus-10. Wisconsin assistant coach Jackie Friesen said Shaver blossomed as a prospect between her junior and senior years at Wayzata High School and offers an intriguing skill set.
"You notice her speed on the ice and her work ethic," Friesen said. "I've seen some great players come through here with her work ethic and that's really attractive in her. So you have the speed, you have the work ethic and you know that with that, in four years, she's going to be a pretty phenomenal player. It's fun to work with that."
Shaver said she hasn't necessarily surprised herself.
"I'm just riding along, happy with how it's going so far," she said.
Shaver, who has four goals in her last seven games, said it's easy to get caught up in the hype of the Border Battle series, "but you have to keep thinking it's just another game and play every one at your best.
"I'm just excited for the games. It's going to be really challenging."
"You can't not hype it up, because it's there and that's the way it is," Friesen said. "But I think what you can do is just make sure you stick to your game plan and play like you can and know that everything will be OK."
The elephant in the room for the Badgers is that they've not won a game in this series going back to October of 2011. The winless streak is at 18 (0-16-2). That includes seven straight losses in Madison and setbacks to Minnesota in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals in 2014 and 2015.
Wisconsin and the Gophers were ranked 1-2 when they met for the first time last season in Madison. Minnesota set the tone with three opening-period goals in the first game, a 4-1 win, and then scored the tying goal with 1 minute, 28 seconds remaining in regulation before prevailing in overtime 2-1.
"I think last year we struggled with it a little bit, anticipating it too much and getting a little too nervous," Mikayla Johnson said of her and her teammates. "I think it took a turn for the worse for us."
The mood now is more business-like.
"We're just trying to treat it like any other weekend and know that it's going to be two really good games, two fun games to be in," Mikayla Johnson said.
"You can't not hype it up, because it's there and that's the way it is," Friesen said. "But I think what you can do is just make sure you stick to your game plan and play like you can and know that everything will be OK."
During his time as a player at Wisconsin, Mark Johnson played on teams that won 10 of 14 meetings with the Gophers.
As an assistant under Hall of Fame men's coach Jeff Sauer, Johnson worked with clubs that were as 9-14-1 against Minnesota.
Since taking over the women's program, Johnson is 21-31-8 vs. the Gophers.
Is there a difference between being a player and a coach in such a long-time rivalry?
"History tells me, as a player, when I played against the Gophers, it didn't take much to get you motivated," Johnson said. "You were excited whether you were playing here in Madison or you were playing up in Minneapolis.
"I think from a coaching standpoint the players are probably a little more focused in practice over the course of the week because they, as players, enjoy these types of weekends, too.
"These are the weekends that you put all the extra work in the summer, the extra reps in the weight room, the extra skating. These are the fun weekends where you get to go out and showcase yourself against a real top opponent," Johnson said.
