Video: Badgers host second-ranked Minnesota
October 28, 2009 | Women's Hockey
Oct. 28, 2009
Wisconsin Notes 
| Minnesota Notes
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin women’s hockey team continues its homestand hosting the Border Battle against undefeated Minnesota on Friday and Sunday afternoon, both games starting at 2 p.m.
Wisconsin has jumped right into conference action with four straight WCHA series to start the season. Following the Minnesota series, UW will face its first non-conference opponent in two consecutive weeks against Robert Morris and Wayne State.
Watch avideo with Jasmine Giles and Brooke Ammerman as they talk about the upcoming weekend against Minnesota.
At a glance
No. 8/9 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Minnesota | Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.
Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center | Live Stats (Game 1) | Live Stats (Game 2) | Live Streaming
Women’s hockey on the Big Ten Network
The Big Ten Network announced it will web stream all Wisconsin women’s hockey games, excluding the Bemidji State series, for a charge of $2.99 per game. UWBadgers.com will not stream the home women's hockey games except for the Culver’s Camp Randall Hockey Classic and the second game of the series with Bemidji State.
About the series
Wisconsin is 19-25-6 all-time against the Gophers. The Badgers only lost two games in the 2008-09 season and one was a 4-2 loss to Minnesota at Ridder Arena. However, UW has not dropped a game to Minnesota at the Kohl Center since Nov. 3, 2007.
Wisconsin was 2-1-2-1 in its last five meetings against the Gophers. In their most recent match-up the Badgers defeated the Gophers 5-3 to claim the 2009 WCHA Final Face-off title.
Entering the Border Battle competition, Minnesota has a 60-40 lead with wins in women's soccer and volleyball. Wisconsin earned 40 points when the Badgers won the Battle of the Axe earlier this month in football.
Last time out
For the third straight week, the Wisconsin women’s hockey team split the weekend series, this time against Ohio State. On Friday night, Wisconsin had a three-goal rally in the third period, but a turnover in UW’s defensive zone gave Ohio State the 4-3 win. On Saturday, the Badgers scored three straight goals in the second period to eventually tally the 5-3 win and split the series to move to 3-3-0 overall and in league play.
Badger notes (3-3-0, 3-3-0 WCHA)
Wisconsin has dropped the first game of each series this season, only to come back and win the finale. Last weekend UW avoided being shut out in the opening game of the series for the first time this season falling 4-3 to Ohio State.
The series against Ohio State was UW’s highest scoring output of the season with eight goals on the weekend. Six different Badgers scored goals, while 10 contributed points.
Wisconsin has taken five penalty shots in the program’s history, including Brooke Ammerman’s attempt this season against Ohio State. Ammerman became the first Badger to convert on a penalty shot. The first time a team scored on UW with a penalty shot was Feb. 14, 2009 when Nina Tikkinen of Minnesota State scored on Jessie Vetter.
The Badgers 3-3-0 start is the worst to start a season in program history as the Badgers have yet to put together back-to-back wins this season.
The Badgers scored their first power-play goal against Bemidji State when Kelly Nash scored on UW’s 17th attempt; UW is 1-33 on the man-advantage. The Badgers have 59 power-play shots, but only one goal.
Wisconsin leads the nation on the penalty kill, going 29-for-29 on the kill. The Badgers have held opponents to 36 shots when on the power play.
Freshman Becca Ruegsegger had a shutout in her first collegiate start and has recorded a 2-2-0 record this season. Ruegsegger has 82 saves and a .911 save percentage with a 1.50 goals-against average. Senior Alannah McCready (1-1-0) has allowed three goals holding a .946 save percentage with 53 saves.
The Badgers have netted 14 goals on 199 attempts this season. Wisconsin has out-shot opponents every game this season totaling 199 compared to 146 and has outscored opponents 14-11.
Already, 16 players have a point contributed to the Badgers scoring this season. Mallory Deluce is the team’s leading scorer with five points (3g-2a). Three Badgers have multiple goals, Deluce (3), junior Geena Prough (2) and freshman Brianna Decker (2).
Stefanie McKeough and Saige Pacholok has been a positive asset to the Badger defense. The Badger freshmen, along with Deluce, lead the team in +/- with a plus-three rating.
Ruegsegger had 18 saves to shut out North Dakota in her first collegiate start. The last Badger to earn a shutout in her first collegiate start was current senior Alannah McCready against Union College on Sept. 29, 2007. McCready, who had appeared in just one game prior to that start, had 14 saves in the 11-0 shutout win as a sophomore.
Freshmen did all the work in UW’s first win of the season. Decker had Wisconsin’s first goal of the season, also marking her first multi-goal game, as she lit the lamp twice in UW’s 3-0 win. Freshman Lauren Unser scored for Wisconsin in just her second shift as a Badger to cap the scoring for UW, while Ruegsegger played in net.
Wisconsin lost eight players from the 2009 championship squad, including its top four leading scorers from a year ago. Six Badgers graduated, including Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner Jessie Vetter. Wisconsin also lost the nation’s leading scorer, Hilary Knight, and Meghan Duggan to train with the U.S. Women’s National Team.
The Badgers first NCAA title came during an Olympic year in 2006 when the Badgers went 36-4-1.
Interim head coach Tracey DeKeyser is no stranger to the program. She has been with UW since its inception and has been at the helm of the program twice before as a co-coach with former assistant Dan Koch. DeKeyser is assisted by UW alums, Peter Johnson and Jackie Friesen for the 2009-10 season.
Three seniors lead the UW squad. Jasmine Giles is the team captain and is assisted by Kyla Sanders and Emily Kranz. All three Badgers are first-time captains but have plenty of experience, suiting up for every game in their three-year career.
The Badgers return six forwards that scored over 20 points last season; Brooke Ammerman, Jasmine Giles, Mallory Deluce, Kyla Sanders, Carolyne Prevost and Kelly Nash.
The Kelter twins, Alev and Derya, come to UW as multi-sport athletes. They signed with soccer, which means they will miss at least one month of hockey competition before being eligible to play. They will join the squad after the completion of the Wisconsin women’s soccer season.
The UW schedule is highlighted by the first-ever Wisconsin women’s hockey outdoor game. Wisconsin will host Bemidji State out on Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. for the Culver’s Camp Randall Hockey Classic. The game precedes the Wisconsin men’s hockey team who will take on Michigan at 5 p.m. Wisconsin will also go up against two teams from the NCAA Frozen Four, Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth. Wisconsin will also host an exhibition game against Johnson’s Team USA on Jan. 5 at the Kohl Center.
Scouting the opponent
No. 2 Minnesota (8-0-0, 6-0-0 WCHA)
Minnesota was picked to finish second in the WCHA preseason coaches’ poll. Last season the Gophers went 23-2-3 in WCHA play and have started the 2009-10 season off undefeated.
Minnesota enters the weekend after a series sweep over St. Cloud State. The Gophers did not allow a single goal throughout the two game series, winning 4-0 Friday night and 7-0 Saturday night. Junior goaltender Alyssa Grogan earned her first shutout of the 2009-10 season and fourth of her career on the second night.
Ten different gophers combined for all of Minnesota’s goals and assists in Saturday’s 7-0 shutout. In addition, the Gophers finished 4-for-7 on the power play on Saturday.
Sarah Erickson and Emily West have stepped up for the Gophers this season. Erickson has a team-leading eight goals this season, while West leads the team with 13 points (6g-7a).
Entering the 2009-10 season, Minnesota lost forwards Gigi Marvin and twins Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, and defenseman Rachel Drazen to the U.S. team. However, Marvin and Drazen had finished their senior years, and the Lamoureux twins, after finishing outstanding freshman seasons, transferred back home to the University of North Dakota. Both will sit out the year, playing with the U.S. team.
The Gophers have depth at the goaltending position with the new addition of freshman Noora Räty along with returning WCHA Goaltending Champion, Alyssa Grogan. Räty is 5-0-0 with a nation-leading 0.60 goals-against average this season.
