BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
HAMDEN, Conn. — The biggest game of the Wisconsin women's hockey season wouldn't start for more than three hours, but a small group of players was already on site.
When the bus left the team hotel for the 20-minute ride to the People's United Center here Friday afternoon, its abbreviated passenger list included senior center and co-captain Sophia Shaver, junior goaltender Kristen Campbell, junior center Abby Roque and junior defenseman Maddie Rowe.
It's been their day-of-game ritual all season regardless of locale. The four have preferences and habits that need extra attention, so they get to the rink well ahead of their teammates and get down to business.
The early arrivers were determined to treat this latest outing as just another game even though it was definitely not. A berth in the NCAA title match was on the line Friday night when the top-seeded Badgers threw down with two-time defending national champion Clarkson in the Frozen Four semifinals.
Roque is the daughter of an NHL scout and former college men's hockey coach, so she's someone who grew up appreciating the unique rhythms of game day.
"I like to have my time at the rink; I always have," she said. "I just like to get here and get a feel for the rink and get myself organized. I don't like to feel rushed."
Campbell, meanwhile, has a focused routine that includes organizing her gear, stretching, taping her stick, visualizing her angles and techniques as well as juggling with racquetballs "to get my eyes going."
Those pregame comfort zones gave way to arguably the best performance of a season that began for the Badgers way back in late September.
Wisconsin thoroughly dominated the Golden Knights 5-0 on the way to a berth in its eighth national championship game since 2006.Â
The Badgers (34-4-2 overall) will be seeking their fifth NCAA crown when they face Western Collegiate Hockey Association archrival Minnesota (32-5-1) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Wisconsin will engage the Gophers for the sixth time this season. They split four regular-season meetings before the Badgers prevailed in the WCHA playoff title match.
This will be the third time a Border Battle will close out the women's college hockey season. Wisconsin won its first national crown by knocking off the Gophers in 2006. Minnesota returned the favor in 2012.
Thumping Clarkson was cathartic. The Golden Knights upset the Badgers in the 2017 title game and remain the only non-WCHA program to raise a national championship banner.
"We wanted to get this one so badly," Roque said. "Coming in we knew how important it was, but we treated it like any other game."
Roque accounted for the game-winning goal in the second period and Campbell made 14 saves for her 10th shutout of the season.
Senior right winger and co-captain
Annie Pankowski, a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist, scored twice in a four-goal third period to give her 10 conversions in the last six games.
Wisconsin asserted itself in every statistical category. It had a 40-14 edge in shots on goal, an incredible 44-18 advantage in face-offs and was 4-for-4 killing penalties.
"Little battles is how you win games," said Roque, who won an astounding 19 of 24 draws. "Us doing the little things led to the big things."
Clarkson came in with one of the most dynamic lines in college hockey, but Campbell made exquisite saves on left winger and Patty Kazmaier finalist Loren Gabel (40 goals) and right winger Elizabeth Giguere (73 points) in the scoreless opening period.
"We knew exactly what we had to do," Pankowski said. "We had to shut down their top line and we had to get pucks in deep and not turn it over at the blue line."
Clarkson managed three shots during its power plays, a total the Badgers matched while shorthanded.
"Our PK was awesome," Roque said.
The work of the six Wisconsin seniors — Shaver, Pankowski, center
Emily Clark, left winger
Sam Cogan and defensemen
Mikaela Gardner and
Maddie Rolfes — leaps off the scoresheet. They combined for three goals, five assists and were a cumulative plus-15. They joined forces to produce half the blocked shots (eight of 16) and nearly half the shots on goal (19 of 40).
Cogan, who missed the first two games of the postseason with an upper-body injury, was moved in-game to a line with Pankowski and Clark and responded with a goal, two assists and a team-best seven shots.
"I thought I gave everything I could possibly give," Cogan said.
"I put Cogan up there for a reason," Wisconsin coach
Mark Johnson said of the move to the No. 1 line. "She has a great hockey IQ and understands how to play."
The Badgers are appearing in their record-tying sixth consecutive Frozen Four. Some veins of consistency can be mined from that feat.
They have finished among the top three nationally in team defense each season. That includes four times in the top spot.
They are dependably clutch. They are now 169-3-2 when leading after two periods and 168-7-5 when scoring the first goal during the Frozen Four streak.
They are blessed with depth. They currently have nine players with multiple game-winning goals and six with double-digit goals.
"We have a lot of great players on this team that can score," Cogan said.
"The coaches that coach against us talk about our depth and our ability to play multiple people in certain situations, so I think that's been one of our strengths," Johnson said.
There will be no secrets come Sunday when an all-WCHA final is staged in the national championship game for the fifth time. The Gophers advanced with a 2-0 triumph over Cornell.
It will mark the 12th time Wisconsin and Minnesota have played with either a WCHA or NCAA title on the line going back to 2002. The Badgers have a 7-4 edge.
"Getting here has been our goal since the beginning of the season," Campbell said.
Pankowski said the focus will be strictly internal.
"As soon as we start to worry about what they're doing, what they have and what their game plan is, we sort of extend ourselves too far and we overthink it," she said. "The strength of this team is leaning on each other and just playing our game."
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