BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — You could argue that the most engaging part of the Wisconsin women's hockey season ended Saturday night.
Yes, the Badgers are bound for another Frozen Four after their 6-0 dismantling of Mercyhurst in a NCAA quarterfinal duel at LaBahn Arena.
Yes, the record-setting brilliance of junior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens will be allowed to shine for at least another 60 minutes after she remained unscored upon in the postseason.
Yes, the statistical marvel that is UW will continue pursuing its fifth national championship Friday it when hooks up with long-time rival Minnesota in the NCAA semifinals in Durham, New Hampshire.
What came to a bittersweet end is perhaps the biggest home-ice advantage in the land.
A program-record 12th sellout gathering of 2,273 was on hand to watch the Badgers prevail at home for the 25th consecutive time dating back to last season.
The crowd stood and roared during player introductions, saving the loudest hosanna for Desbiens, the Patty Kazmaier Award finalist who responded with 22 saves and her NCAA-record-extending 21st shutout of the season.
The crowd bellowed when goals were scored — especially the second-period short-hander by junior center Sydney McKibbon that came off a 2-on-1 and broke the game open — and seemed to ooh and ah the loudest whenever junior winger Sarah Nurse touched the puck.
The crowd disagreed loudly when apparent penalties weren't called — which is normal, of course — but it also applauded appreciatively after Mercyhurst goaltender Sarah McConnell made a particularly acrobatic pad stop on junior defenseman Mellissa Channell.
The crowd stood and roared one last time as the final seconds wound down, leaving members of the UW entourage to marvel at the scene.
The first thing UW coach Mark Johnson did in his postgame press conference was to thank the fans for creating a "real energetic" atmosphere.
"I know the players love playing in front of them," he said.
"It's awesome for us here," Nurse said after recording her team-best 25th goal and adding a pair of assists to go along with a team-high 10 shots.
The 25 consecutive home wins is a school record. The Badgers (35-3-1 overall) have outscored opponents 110-12 with 13 shutouts during that stretch and have trailed for all of 4 minutes, 38 seconds.
"It's nice to know they have your back," Desbiens said of the fans, who made the season finale a sellout in less than 24 hours.
Desbiens astutely noted that the Lakers (19-11-5) probably weren't ready to handle the atmosphere. They had six freshmen in the lineup — including McDonnell — and came in having not played a home game before more than 750 fans.
"I don't think Mercyhurst was used to that," Desbiens said.
The Badgers, meanwhile, were in their element.
"Obviously we feed off that," Johnson said.
Not that the Lakers went quietly. Desbiens had to come up with at least a half-dozen high-grade saves. One was a point-blank shot by center Brooke Hartwick from the low slot that would have tied the game at 1-all in the first period and changed the dynamic.
Desibens also made a series of deft stops in the second session, thwarting a pair of 2-on-1s and a difficult tip by center Emily Janiga.
Desbiens has worked 15 perfect periods in the playoffs, prompting a Captain Obvious offering from Johnson.
"That's pretty good," he said with a smile.
Desbiens lowered her goals against average to 0.71 and bumped her save ratio to.962. Both lead the nation.
But ask her how many quality scoring chances Mercyhurst had and Desbiens suddenly got disinterested.
"I'm not that busy, but I still don't count them," she said. "I can't really say. I don't know."
This marks the fourth time the Badgers have handed Mercyhurst its final loss of the season. Three have come in NCAA quarterfinal games in Madison (2006, '12 and '16). The other came in the 2009 title game.
But after playing the Lakers twice at the Kohl Center (2006 and '12) and once at Capitol Ice in Middleton (2006), Wisconsin unleashed its biggest advantage courtesy of the LaBahn crowd.
"During the game you can tell it's never quiet no matter what's going on in the game," Nurse said. "The fans are always so loud and that's such an intimidating factor when you're playing a team that's not used to that."
The Badgers lead the nation in scoring defense (0.67) and penalty-killing success ratio (.947) after going 4-for-4 against Mercyhurst.
Thanks to the conversion by McKibbon, UW has more short-handers (eight) than power-play goals allowed (six).
The Badgers finished off their first unbeaten record at home because of a season-long habit of striking quickly. They outscored opponents 27-1 in the first period at home this season and UW is 48-0-1 when leading after one the last two campaigns.
Those 27 goals have come from 12 different players, which defines a diverse attack.
Johnson said the crowds at LaBahn have gotten progressively louder and more involved every season since it opened in October of 2012.
"It's a tribute to the players who played so well for a number of years that we've played here at LaBahn," he said.
Do his players know how good they have it at LaBahn?
"I think they understand it's a special place," Johnson said.
