Badgers face road test against St. Cloud State
November 17, 2009 | Women's Hockey
Nov. 17, 2009
MADISON, Wis. - The women's hockey team secured its sixth-ranked standing for the second week in a row after recording a tie and a win against Wayne State from Nov. 12-13. The Badgers get back on the road for their first conference game in two weeks when they travel to St. Cloud, Minn. to face the St. Cloud State Huskies at the National Hockey Center.
After two weeks of non-conference play, Wisconsin is now tied for fourth with Bemidji State with ten points apiece in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Badgers look to extend its three-game unbeaten streak entering the series this weekend.
At a glance
No. 6 Wisconsin vs. St. Cloud State | St. Cloud, Minn. | National Hockey Center
Nov. 20 and 21 at 2 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream (pay-for-view) |Audio (Free)
Bring two canned food items and get in FREE
All fans bringing two canned food items for donation to the Student Athlete Advisory Council Food Drive will be admitted FREE to the St. Cloud State women's hockey game against the defending national champion Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, Nov. 20, at 2:07 pm in the National Hockey Center.
All proceeds from this S.A.A.C. sponsored food drive on the campus of St. Cloud State will be donated directly to the Salvation Army in St. Cloud.
About the series
Wisconsin is 34-5-2 all-time against St. Cloud State. The Badgers defeated the Huskies in their last six meetings, while only surrendering six goals. The last time Wisconsin fell to SCSU was on Oct. 19, 2007 when the Huskies defeated the Badgers 2-1 in St. Cloud, Minn.
Last Time Out
Wisconsin tallied a tie and a win in its second non-conference series against Wayne State last weekend. After finishing with a 2-2 tie at the Kohl Center on Thursday night, the Badgers found their offensive rhythm on Friday, defeating the Warriors 6-2 in game two. Sophomore Brooke Ammerman tallied four goals in the victory to tie her career-high set against Syracuse in UW's 8-0 win at the Kohl Center. After sitting out three games due to injury, junior Malee Windmeier returned to the rink, along with freshman Brianna Decker who made her first appearance since suffering an injury against Ohio State on Oct. 3.
In the first game of the series, senior Kyla Sanders and junior Geena Prough notched goals to lead the Badgers to its first tie of the season on its first Thursday game in school history.
Badger notes
(7-4-1, 5-3-0 WCHA)
The Badgers 6-2 win over Wayne State marked UW's most decisive wins this season and also was the UW's highest scroring output of the season. The Badgers are 5-0-0 when leading after the first period, and have won all seven games when going into the third frame with the lead.
The Badgers, who had been struggling on the power play, picked up two goals with the man advantage and converted when they were shorthanded in the last game of the series against Wayne State. UW improves to 5-for-59 on the man advantage.
Wisconsin ranks fourth in the nation on the penalty kill with a 91.1 percent success rate going 51-for-59 on the kill.
The competition in net is still alive as both goaltenders continue to make strides. Freshman Becca Ruegsegger had a shutout in her first collegiate start and has recorded a 4-3-1 record this season.
Ruegsegger has 189 saves and a .922 save percentage with a 2.00 goals-against average. Senior Alannah McCready (3-1-0) holds a .929 save percentage and a 1.71 goals-against average tallying 91 saves.
The Badgers have netted 35 goals by 13 different Badgers. Wisconsin has out-shot opponents in every game but one this season totaling 392 compared to 304.
Already all of the Badgers' 18 skaters that dress regularly have contributed a point this season. Brooke Ammerman is the teams' leading scorer with 15 points (9g, 6a) followed by Mallory Deluce (5g, 5a).
Ammerman is currently on a nine-game point streak which includes her career-high tying four-goal game against Wayne State. Ammerman is tied for fourth in the nation for goals per game, second for game-winning goals and 15th in the nation for points per game. Ammerman remains a balanced forward with 36 career goals and 33 career assists in only her second season.
Wisconsin's defense has played aggressively helping the scoring output for UW notching five goals this season. Stefanie McKeough and Saige Pacholok are a positive asset to the Badger defense, leading the defenseman in scoring with eight and seven points, respectively. The Badger freshmen lead the team in plus/minus with a plus-10 and a plus-12 rating, respectively.
The five freshman skaters have contributed 22 points this season, Decker has tallied four points in only three games.
If Wisconsin improves on its three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1), it will be the longest streak for the Badgers this season.
Scouting the Opponent
St. Cloud State (4-9-0, 3-6-0 WCHA)
SCSU enters the weekend after splitting a series with the Bemidji State Beavers form Nov. 13-14. After falling to Bemidji State 1-0 in game one, the Huskies bounced back with a 5-2 victory in game two to solidify the split. Holly Roberts led the Huskies in game two, recording a hat trick in the defeat.
In Saturday's victory, Meagan Pezon found the back of the net just 30 seconds into the game to put SCSU on the scoreboard after the Beavers held them scoreless in Friday's matchup.
Ashley Nixon tallied 21 saves in net for St. Cloud to seal the win.
Caitlin Hogan currently leads the Huskies in points with 13 (8 goals and 5 assists) in 12 games.
