Step by Step: Badgers with high hopes as trek begins
September 23, 2015 | Mike Lucas
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September 23, 2015
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com
MADISON, Wis. -- During an 11-year NHL career, spanning 669 games with five different teams, Mark Johnson was rarely, if ever, penalized. That was his makeup as a pro, celebrated Olympian and college All-American.
So you can imagine how out of character it was for Johnson, the Wisconsin women’s hockey coach, to be assessed a penalty, a five-minute major, no less, while riding his bike.
During the recent Ironman Wisconsin triathlon, which was staged in Madison and its environs, Johnson received a blue card for drafting within 10 meters of another cyclist.
“I’m going about 12 miles per hour into this headwind,” Johnson recounted, “and I looked over at the guy (an event official) and I said, ‘Really? Do you think I’m trying to draft somebody?’”
Laughing, the 58-year-old Johnson demurred, “I got a penalty, can you believe it?”
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Fair or foul, he had no recourse but to serve it. “So I got to Cross Plains,” he said, “and they’ve got these big yellow tents, the penalty box. You stop in there and the guy gives you a stopwatch and when it hits five minutes, you get out of the box. I was feeling shamed.”
He completed the Ironman in a little over 16 hours -- finishing just behind his son, Patrick. “It was his first time,” said Johnson, who was competing for a sixth time. “I’ve been in the 14’s before, generally between 14 and 16 (hours), depending on the weather and how much conditioning I’ve done.”
The physical demands are obvious for a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.
“The nice thing about doing them (triathlons) every other year,” Johnson said, “is that once you sign up, you have to get yourself in pretty good shape. If you don’t, you’re not going to survive. So it keeps you pretty fit. As you get closer to race and you’re extending yourself, it makes you feel good.”
Johnson hasn’t gained an ounce since leaving the NHL in 1990. “When I was retired,” he said, “I was probably in the 168-170-pound range, depending on what time of the year it was. I usually went into camp around there but over the course of the long season and number of games, I’d drop a few.”
There are so many attractive elements to the Ironman that it keeps Johnson coming back for more. “Obviously having it in Madison, it’s a big part of the community and it’s well-supported,” he said. “It’s a great event, there’s a lot of energy. We had a little entourage this year from women’s hockey.”
That group included director of hockey operations Paul Hickman, former UW skater Carla Pentimone, and three seniors on last year’s team: shot-blocking defenseman Katarina Zgraja and high-scoring forwards Karley Sylvester and Brittany Ammerman, the 2015 Hockey Humanitarian Award winner.
Sylvester and Ammerman were the Badgers’ second- and third-leading scorers, respectively.
The mere mention of their names got Johnson thinking about his 13th team at Wisconsin.
“Up front, the question will arise, ‘Who’s going to get the puck in the net?’” Johnson posed. “We lost a lot of offense from last year’s graduating seniors. Now it’s time for other kids to step up. If we get a contribution from many different people, by committee, in the process we should be pretty good.”
The Badgers return their leading scorer, Annie Pankowski, who was named the national Rookie of the Year, the first UW player in school history to be so honored. “She’s what you would call a player who has the ability to get the puck in the net,” said Johnson, who knows something about that skill.
Along with Pankowski’s scoring, the Badgers can bank on goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, who posted a 26-6-4 record and tossed 14 shutouts last season. “You start from the net out,” Johnson said. “Having Ann-Renee back, having her healthy and ready to go, is a big piece.”
Senior defenseman Courtney Burke is another returning veteran and team captain.
“She (Burke) has watched Brianna Decker and Decker watched Hillary Knight,” Johnson said of the program’s royalty and line of succession. “It’s sort of one of those things where you can pass the torch on the next group. She has learned from our past players and now it’s her opportunity.
“For Courtney, and all the seniors, they know it’s the last hurrah of their college careers. And they probably worked a little bit harder over the course of the summer knowing they have maybe 40 games left here. I know that they’re excited.
“I just see a group with real good chemistry,” Johnson continued. “We had a lot of players stay this summer; they get along. What I really enjoy about them is that they’re not afraid to work, whether during the summer getting themselves ready for the school year or since we’ve been on ice this fall.
“We’ve had four or five days with them in small sessions and they come to practice with a smile on their face every day. That’s the fun part of what we do, when you get a group that is committed and wants to get better. It makes getting on the ice and working with them more enjoyable.”
Defending NCAA champion Minnesota, anchored by forward Hannah Brandt, the preseason WCHA Player of the Year, was tabbed to win the league by a vote of the league coaches. The Gophers got six first-place votes. The Badgers, who were picked for second place, got two.
In each of the past two seasons, Wisconsin has been eliminated by Minnesota in the semifinals of the Frozen Four by margins of 3-1 and 5-3. “We put ourselves in a great position at the end,” said Johnson. “We just have to figure out how to outscore our opponent in that last game.”
Last season, the Badgers won 29 games and the WCHA Final Face-Off. “The big thing for us now,” Johnson said, “is to stay focused on a weekly basis. I tell them, ‘Don’t get ahead of yourselves. Bring those work habits every day. If you do that, you will give yourself a chance to be successful.’”
Johnson doesn’t believe in a sophomore jinx. Good thing. Pankowski, Baylee Wellhausen and Emily Clark skated on an all-freshman line late last year. “And they played as well as anyone on our team,” Johnson said. “So you’ve got those pieces coming back …”
And that’s a good starting point to go along with a proven goaltender, the chemistry, the work ethic and let’s not forget the tradition -- four national championships under Johnson. “Our journey now,” he said, “is to get a feel for where we’re at as a team and then try to get better.”
In this regard, the upperclassmen will have a say in how good the Badgers can be, Johnson said.
“A bunch of seniors are going to get a chance to play more than they have, whether it’s Rachel Jones, Katy Harding, Erika Sowchuk or Kim Drake,” he pointed out. “They look good. Now it’s trying to get them off to a good start, build up some confidence in their game and let it grow through the year.”
When the Badgers open their season against Providence College in San Jose, California, Oct. 2-3, Johnson will be able to rely on a coaching staff that has stayed intact with the return of associate head coach Dan Koch and assistant coach Jackie Friesen. Continuity is always a positive in this area.
“That’s another exciting part for me,” said Johnson, who has a 360-71-34 career record (.810). “Dan and Jackie do an outstanding job and it’s fun to watch them continue to grow. They’re a big part of what we do, whether it’s recruiting or what we do on and off the ice. They’re very important to us.”
Asked if he takes a personal inventory at the end or the start of a season, measuring his level of contentment with what he’s doing, Johnson said, “If you had the same group every year like you do in professional sports, you might have to challenge yourself every summer to get motivated.”
But that’s not the case here. There’s a turnover every year, and new motivations.
“You get a chance to work with new kids and meet new families,” he said. “The fun part about what we do is going on the ice and practicing and trying to put together a team that can get better over the course of the winter. If we’re able to do it, you sign up and do it again the following year.”
