BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin women's hockey coach Mark Johnson sounded like a man reading off a menu, but the smile on his face Sunday afternoon fairly bellowed.
The top-rated Badgers had just clinched their second consecutive Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season title with an 8-0 thumping of second-ranked Minnesota-Duluth at sold-out LaBahn Arena.
The keepsake triumph came amid the intense emotions of Senior Day and included milestones for goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens and left winger Baylee Wellhausen.
Not long after first-year WCHA commissioner Katie Million presented the championship trophy to UW senior center and captain Sydney McKibbon — the sixth time that exchange has taken place since 2006 — Johnson joined his players in a happy, but reserved dressing room.
After the hard hat award was dispensed — on the day of her 50th career shutout, Desbien gave it to Wellhausen, who recorded her first career hat trick — Johnson spoke in an easy, conversational tone.
"That was fun," he said of the romp.
"We earned it," he said of the trophy.
Johnson then shined a light on the unexpected blowout, which came one day after the clubs dueled to a taut 1-1 overtime draw and engaged in a 12-round shootout before freshman defenseman Mekenzie Steffen scored to give the Badgers an extra point for the standings.
Wisconsin (27-2-2 overall, 22-2-2 with 70 points in the WCHA) dominated the Bulldogs on the shot chart (48-15) as well as face-offs (41-24) on the way to one of its most impressive wins of the season.
It was an appropriate backdrop to honor the six seniors — Desbiens, McKibbon, defenseman Mellissa Channell, winger Mikayla Johnson, winger Sarah Nurse and defenseman Jenny Ryan — who got loud ovations in a pregame ceremony from the crowd of 2,273.
The Badgers, unbeaten in their last 14 games, have been ranked No. 1 in the national polls every week since September. They close out the regular season next Saturday and Sunday with a series at defending NCAA champion Minnesota.
"I give our senior class and our leadership group a lot of credit," Johnson said of the core that includes his oldest daughter. "Knowing at the beginning of the year that everyone looks at you and puts you up there (at the top of the rankings), it's a tough task and it takes a lot of commitment, takes a lot of consistency, takes a lot of dedication on the part of the players."
Quality depth helps. Only one senior, Nurse, showed up on the scoresheet and that was for a secondary assist.
Seven of the goals came from juniors — in addition to Wellhausen, right winger Annie Pankowski had two, giving her 14 in the winning streak and a team-best 20 overall — while freshman center Abby Roque had the winner and two assists.
"That was a good game today," Johnson said after his club collected the 12th WCHA title, regular-season or playoff, in program history. "We talk about puck pressure, supporting one another, getting bodies in front of the net and the result is we got some nice goals and everyone got a chance to contribute."
Wellhausen prompted seven patrons from the 10th sellout of the season to launch their hats onto the ice when she finished off her three-goal outing late in the second period. Twice she went hard to the net and was rewarded with tap-ins of rebounds. The other goal came off a nifty tip-in just outside the crease.
In the process, Wellhausen became the fourth in her family to record a hat trick on behalf of the Badgers.
Her uncle, Tony Granato, had two of them long before he came the UW men's hockey coach — in 1983 and '84 — while uncle Don had one in 1990, well before he became the associate head coach of the men's team.
Another uncle, Kevin, also had a hat trick for Wisconsin, that coming in 1997.
"I'm pretty speechless," Wellhausen said.
The UW onslaught came against an excellent goaltender, Maddie Rooney, who had allowed only six goals in her previous seven starts.
The only real drama after the first 25 minutes was whether Desbiens would nudge her NCAA-record shutout record to another extraordinary level.
She did so with 15 saves, giving her five shutouts in her career vs. the Bulldogs, 12 for the season and 29 in her career at home.
"I saved it for today, actually," Desbiens joked of the milestone.
In a more serious tone, Desbiens acknowledged that 50 career shutouts are an impressive feat.
"I cannot believe it," she said.
Desbiens lingered a long time on the ice following the game before exiting and greeting a cluster of young fans who presented her with flowers. She laughed when one of the children asked for her stick.
"I can't give you my stick," she said. "It's lucky."
Johnson refuses to glorify statistics, but the guy who had 125 goals in 125 career games at UW and another 219 conversions in the NHL seems somewhat in awe of the milestone Desbiens reached in 111 career starts.
"They're just phenomenal," he said.
Speaking of which, the Badgers lead the country in offense (4.16 goals per game) and defense (0.94 goals allowed per game). After a great weekend on special teams — 2-for-5 on the power play, 6-for-6 killing penalties — they rank third nationally in those two categories.
Johnson looked around the dressing room at his players and congratulated them on winning the WCHA crown.
"That's a tough trophy to win," he said. "It takes a long, long time to get it."
Johnson also thanked the seniors "not only for what you've done on the ice but off it."
One trophy has been secured. Time to chase some more.
