Recipe for Rivalry: Plenty of history in Badgers' weekend series
January 22, 2016 | Men's Hockey, Women's Hockey, Andy Baggot
Familiarity, close finishes drive UW's feuds with Minnesota and North Dakota
Familiarity and close finishes continue to fuel longstanding feuds with conference foes: Minnesota for the Wisconsin men and North Dakota for the Badgers women. Both rivalries will be rekindled this weekend in Madison. |  From Varsity Magazine
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
The recipe for a creating a flavorful rivalry depends largely on who's doing the cooking.
History is a major ingredient, as is pain.But what about mutual respect and dislike?
Two distinct Wisconsin hockey rivalries — one deep-seated and the other in the midst of a growth spurt — will be on display this weekend in Madison.
The men will host Minnesota in a Big Ten Conference series Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center.
The women, meanwhile, will face North Dakota in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series Saturday and Sunday at LaBahn Arena.
How do you define a quality rivalry?
"Something that dates back a while, a team you know very well and it's always fun to play them," said Kevin Schulze, a senior defenseman and co-captain for the Badgers men's team.
To wit: The men's squads in this series have been playing one another since 1922. These games will be the 275th and 276th in a border battle that's been staged indoors and out, under three affiliations (Big Ten, WCHA and independent) at sites in five states (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin) and nine cities (Ann Arbor, Bloomington, Chicago, Duluth, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis and St. Paul).
"Two teams that are very competitive that have an extra kick in them when facing each other," said Rachel Jones, a senior winger for the Wisconsin women's team.
To wit: The women's squads in this series have played 54 times going back to 2004. The Badgers opened with 24 straight wins and prevailed in 34 of the first 36 meetings, but are 9-5-3 vs. North Dakota since the start of the 2012-13 season, with two of those losses coming in the semifinals of the WCHA playoffs and one coming at LaBahn.
A notable difference between the men's and women's rivalries this weekend is their pecking order.
With very few exceptions, Wisconsin players will tell you their biggest rival on the men's side is the Gophers.
"If you can't get up for the Minnesota games there's no reason to be a hockey player," senior defenseman and co-captain Eddie Wittchow said.
Schulze (White Bear Lake), Wittchow (Burnsville), freshman winger Tanner Barnes (Eagan), junior winger Grant Besse (Plymouth), freshman winger Matthew Freytag and sophomore defenseman/winger Cullen Hurley (Eagan) have the added incentive of having grown up in the land of Golden Gophers.
The second-ranked Wisconsin women, meanwhile, will tell you their top rival also wears Maroon and Gold and hails from Minneapolis.
"When you come to Wisconsin, the Gophers are automatically the No. 1 rivalry, but I'd say North Dakota is a close second," Jones said.
Minnesota has won five NCAA women's titles to the Badgers' four. Earlier this season Wisconsin (22-1-1 overall, 16-1-1 in the WCHA) ended an 18-game winless streak in the Border Battle series with a two-game sweep at LaBahn.
"I'd say Minnesota is our No. 1 rival," senior center Erika Sowchuk confirmed, "but North Dakota's definitely up there. They always give us a really good battle. You can never take them lightly."
The eighth-rated Fighting Hawks (13-6-3, 10-5-3) have the rare upper hand on Wisconsin this season. A 3-0 win and 0-0 overtime draw on Dec. 11 and 12 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, ended a season-opening 18-game winning streak by the Badgers.
Now the Fighting Hawks have their sights set on ending Wisconsin's 16-game winning streak at LaBahn that dates back to last season.
"They're known for breaking streaks, but the home-game winning streak is something that we don't really think about," junior defenseman Melissa Channell said.
Perhaps, but the eight Badgers seniors have long memories. They recall a WCHA playoff setback to North Dakota that ended their season in 2013 and another a year later. They also likely know that the Fighting Hawks have come to Madison and won at the Kohl Center as well as LaBahn.
"A little bit of pain can definitely fuel our fire," Sowchuk said.
On the men's side, the three Wisconsin seniors are 3-6-3 vs. the Gophers during their tenures, but you have to look a little deeper to appreciate the intensity. Seven of those 12 games were decided by one goal or less, with another ending with an empty-net conversion.
Wittchow said rivalries are built on games like that.
"It happens over years," he said. "Hard games played. Close games played. Just hard play."
Even though the Badgers (4-10-6, 1-5-2) and Minnesota (11-10, 6-2) are both unranked nationally, the degree of difficulty shouldn't wane.
Schulze said players on both sides of this Border Battle share the same emotions.
"We all feel that rivalry," he said.
Does a good rivalry need a healthy dose of dislike?
"To an extent, yeah," Channell said. "You love the girls on the team off the ice, but on the ice it's a whole different story."
Especially when the stakes are so high. While the Badgers are looking to atone for that lost weekend last month, North Dakota is looking to gain momentum for the stretch run and bolster its NCAA tournament resume.
"On the ice, there's always dislike," Schulze said.
"Without a doubt we respect them," Wittchow said of the Gophers, "but we also know they're our enemy, so we're going to treat them so. You wouldn't be a competitor without that."
Wisconsin has 13 first-year players on its roster and typically has eight or nine in its lineup. Sophomore center Cameron Hughes was asked if the rivalry at hand needed to be explained to the youngsters.
"They know," he said with a smile. "Coming in last year you sensed it. I think everyone's jacked up."
But dislike doesn't always mean animosity. Sowchuk said a rivalry can be based on sheer respect.
"You just have to know that team's going to give you their best game every time they step on the ice with you," she said. "You have to play them honest and respect them and give them your best game back."
Rivalry games can make for some special outcomes and memories.
"I look at it as those are the fun games to play," Jones said. "Those are the ones you want to be a part of because those are the ones to that will be fun to win, the fun ones to battle through."
The Fighting Hawks have earned that distinction.
"They always come out and give us a really good game," Jones said. "It kind of builds every game with them and, especially after the last series, it's getting more and more competitive as the season's winding down."
Hughes said history is a big piece of any rivalry and acknowledged that respect, pain and a snarly undertone can be blended in for taste. So it goes when the Gophers come to town.
"It's a special rivalry," he said, "and it'll be an exciting weekend."
