Mark Johnson
On getting the game going early:
"Clarky played obviously well - all the points and goals she had but just the energy that we displayed, especially in the first part of the game. In the first two or three shifts, we had a great scoring chance the first shift, and you could sense the energy was there.

"It was good because my last vision was the third period in Lindenwood, which obviously for reasons it wasn't very good. So how are going to come out, how are we going to react knowing that tomorrow is going to be here shortly. It was good, it was very impressive.

"The one thing is we haven't played a lot of hockey in the last month, we just had the one game down at Lindenwood and obviously there were circumstances there, so knock a little more rust off and get the flow. The same thing will happen tomorrow night, the first time back-to-back in a month, but there were a lot of good things. A lot of kids played different positions and a lot of nice goals."

On the team focusing on tonight's game:
"I give the leadership of the group credit for that, we talked to them about it and not to get ahead of themselves, this was the most important task in front of them. A good week of practice and not having school just helps a lot of those things that we're trying to do."

On the first series after the break:
"When we came back after Christmas, we were shorthanded a couple of kids but the practices were good. The kids took care of themselves over break which we had talked about, I was impressed with them when they came back. We go to Lindenwood thinking that things are going to be at a pretty high pace and things happen that we had no control over. It was evident tonight and that's probably what I'm happiest about was the energy level, the pace, the puck movement. Some of the things that we have to continue to move forward on. It was good, it was really good."

On Ann-Renee facing a breakaway 30 seconds into the game:
"Yeah it's like, 'Welcome back!' Made a very nice save, it was good for her to get back in and get into the rhythm of face-offs, scoring opportunities and short-handed situations. It was a good game for her to come back on. Now I know she is going to enjoy tomorrow night quite a bit, that's sort of her atmosphere. It's what she loves to do and as I just told the kids, it's a once in a lifetime experience for a lot of them, especially the kids that weren't around when we played Minnesota here a few years ago. 

"It'll be a special night and nothing but thanks to our community and fans for their willingness to come out and give these kids a dream and lifelong memory that will be with them forever."

On what made him confident that Ann-Renee was ready to play:
"It was a mix. Cece didn't practice yesterday, had some things that we had to work out and she skated this morning, but it was a conversation with Ann in regards to risk-reward, and are you comfortable? Usually, when a coach talks to a player, you have a pretty good sense whether they really want to be in or if they hope and wish they could go in. It's a gut check, and it worked out okay."

On the power play:
"The puck movement was good, the first power play was good and then Clarky scored a great shot on the power play goal in the second period there. There were some really nice goals tonight that we haven't seen a lot of over the course of this winter. Pankowski's three goals, her first and third ones, those are tough to defend. You talk about giving and going and putting pucks in the space and she has the ability to one-time it. Where she put the first and third one, it's going to be tough for any goalie to get those. Obviously the second was a tip-in."

On the team's "scoring slump" in the beginning of the season:
"I looked at the box score when we played up there (St. Cloud) in September, Clarky didn't have anything, Annie didn't have anything, the games are tight. When they do what they did tonight, it just opens things up.

"I asked Clarky what she did over in Europe, because her energy level is high and she just seemed refreshed. She played five games in six days, so she didn't practice Monday, she didn't Tuesday, but she came back with a lot of energy. She played as well as she's played all year tonight."

On the last Fill The Bowl game in 2014:
"The outcome was bad. Unfortunately we threw a big party and then laid an egg. The most important thing is looking at what happens between the boards. It's a night you have to enjoy, but when they drop the puck that's when you have to play. You can enjoy warmups, you can enjoy the introductions, the national anthem, but when you get all that stuff done and they drop the puck and get ready to play, let's play. It'll be fun for them all, once in a lifetime experience and something they take away from here that a lot of kids don't get a chance to do that. It will be a lot of fun. Big thank you to our community and fans."

Junior forward Emily Clark
On what's clicking for her offensively: 
"Definitely being more relaxed. Through the first half of the season I thought I was playing well but struggled with producing and the more games where that happens the more you hold onto your stick a little tighter. So getting my confidence back and having the confidence to be more relaxed helps, plus my linemates are awesome. Today everyone was moving the puck really well and we got rewarded for it."

On when she felt like she'd recovered from travelling to Germany with Hockey Canada:
"Probably Wednesday. We got back late Sunday night and I just got my sleeping back on track but now I'm in full swing getting ready for school to start on Tuesday."

On focusing on one game at a time:
"There was a large emphasis all week from the coaches and the leadership group that while we're all obviously excited for Saturday's game, we do have a job to take care of Friday. I'm really proud of how we came out and obviously with having the scoring spread out, everyone came to play and everyone contributed today."

On her hat trick:
"I haven't gotten one as a Badger but I'm very content with how today went and how our team did."

Junior forward Annie Pankowski
On how it feels to be on an offensive streak:
"Clarky and I were joking around saying 'Remember when we couldn't score for nine games?' It was just one of those games where bounces are going in the right direction and it feels like everyone's got a hot stick."

On getting her hot streak going:
"It was definitely mental and that super stereotypical monkey on your back that just follows your around and is everywhere. Those goals we got tonight, they were hitting the post or the knob of the stick or the skate of a defensemen earlier on this season, so I think a little bit of luck turned in our favor."

On how much taking care of business Friday before looking to Saturday's big game was emphasized this week:
"We were just focused on good habits and it's easy when you start scoring a lot of goals and things go your way. Trying to set those habits in really strong tonight and then moving them into tomorrow's game was a big goal this week."

Desbiens stopping the early breakaway:
"She made the first save in practice last week and we were like 'Well, she's back'. She's been robbing us all week so we weren't too worried about that one but it was definitely a nice warmup for her."

On how her line found their groove tonight:
"There's just a lot of excitement. Clarky's been gone for awhile and there's that whole stint last week, so as soon as we got back here and we know we're home for six games, it just gets everyone really excited to show what we have. Down this long stretch it's going to be a nice chip in our pocket."

On the scoring balance:
"If you look at people who scored, it's definitely our line but there was a few mixed in their who don't always score and so to have them have an impact on the team is great."

On if she feels like she got over her "scoring slump":
"I would say that the first half for me was a little bit of a setback, but as soon as we got over that hump and started moving forward, the way we played tonight it the way we can play in higher-intesity games for sure."

Senior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens
On getting back into the lineup:
"It was more (of a conversation) with the athletic trainer than with Coach, just making sure that, not that I wanted to speed the progress, but of course I want to be on the ice. I don't want to be sitting in the stands or anywhere else, it's my last year and I want to play as much as I can so I was definitely trying to show a couple times that I could do stuff. It was like, 'see I can do it' and he would say, 'we're not there yet.' But it's definitely nice to be out there and just being able to practice this week and ease my way through it and get a full week out so it was pretty nice."

On facing a breakaway 30 seconds into the game:
"Maybe the girl just wanted to know if I was ready? I was like, 'okay, well here we go.' It was nice to make that save and I felt confident after. You make a big save and go to the other side and score right away, so it was a big momentum swing and I felt really good after that. If I can play that one, I think it'll look pretty good for the rest of the game."

On playing in front of her parents at LaBahn:
"I think they come here once a year, maximum twice, but they retired in December so now they're able to come a little more so it's nice to be able to say, 'hey, I might get to dress this weekend' and they were like, 'well we're retired so we can come and we don't have to take days off of work.' It's pretty nice to have them around and I really, really enjoyed it.

"They're one of the reasons that I'm here, they traveled so much for me when I was a kid, practice was two hours away from my house. It was really nice of them, but now it's like 22 hours and they make it. It's pretty impressive, they're dedicated parents."

On coming back after her injury:
"I would say I was one of the first ones to worry, when it happens it's pretty scary. At the end of the day I got really lucky with the timing of it and a really good staff here to help me go through the process and just focus on one step at a time and not go ahead. It was a challenging first half mentally and it just taught me a lot with injuries and just being resilient. Keep pushing and do the best that I can. There's things that are out of your control and injuries are definitely one of them."

On playing in the Fill The Bowl game as motivation:
"I did push myself. I circled the date on my calendar and was like, that's exactly four weeks.' and I knew that so that's definitely something I was looking forward to. I never had that chance to start a Fill The Bowl game and it's not every day that you get the chance to play in front of, I'll say a sellout, I'm sure the fans are going to be pretty cool out there. I know we're not sold out yet but I have a lot of faith in them and they've been great in supporting us every year I've been here and I think they can do it. Looking forward to this crowd tomorrow, it's going to be an amazing experience. Once in a lifetime, so I was like, 'I can do it.'"