Wisconsin women's hockey veterans deliver amid injury concerns
Cassie Hall continued her hot start and Claire Enright emphatically took to her elevated role, but another Wisconsin women's hockey defender was injured
A 4-0 victory extended a Wisconsin women’s hockey win streak over the Minnesota State Mavericks to 21 games, showcased a pair of veteran contributors in elevated roles, but was, ultimately, marred by another injury.
With little more than 14 minutes remaining in regulation, Wisconsin Badgers defender Laney Potter followed Mavericks winger Mercury Bischoff into the UW defensive zone. Potter took a fall to the ice after colliding with Bischoff’s leg near the top of the faceoff circle. The fall sent Potter sliding a long ways down the ice, before ultimately stopping inside Wisconsin’s net.
Potter was able to stand up on her own, but exited the ice with the help of teammates, and did not return. If Potter, whose four goals and five assists on the season is second among all Badgers defenders, is unable to play in tomorrow’s series finale, rookie defender Rachel Gorbatenko could make her debut with the Badgers.
Potter is amid a breakout junior campaign, as she has already tied her career-best four goals in a season, and has been featured on Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson’s top power play unit. In a season that has, in the early going, been defined by injuries, the Badgers have been fortunate to see players shine in bigger-than-expected roles.
Cassie Hall rises to the occasion, elevating injury-hampered power play
Cassie Hall was not short on goals her first two years with the Badgers, scoring 39 times in 82 games, but her production is soaring. Hall started her junior season at a goal-per-game pace, and added another against Minnesota State to continue it.
“I think it’s all about confidence, and I think I see a lot more confidence in her this year,” Wisconsin winger Claire Enright said of Hall’s increased scoring output. “So, it’s nice to see her achieve all these goals and keep scoring because it really boosts her confidence
“She goes about practice, like, she works hard, and she won’t, like, show an insane amount of emotion, but you always know she’s having fun, you always know she’s working hard, but I think this year you can just see a huge confidence boost in her. Sometimes, sophomore to junior year is a big change, and you kind of get fully adjusted to WCHA hockey. It’s amazing to see.”
Hall’s goal, her ninth in as many games, came on a new-look power play line employed by Johnson. Lower-body injuries to All-Americans Laila Edwards and Kirsten Simms required the reconfiguration of Wisconsin’s top PP unit. Still, Saturday’s matchup was the first in which Johnson made changes to his PP2 forwards.
Both at five-on-five and on the advantage, Hall has centered the wing pairing of Kelly Gorbatenko and Maggie Scannell in nearly every contest. That trio had been scoring as often, if not more, than the “top line” listed above it on the chart.
“The big things to try to find groups and individuals together with other players that you know have some chemistry, that can play well together,” Johnson said of the challenges of fitting his lineup. “And if you can find that in certain groups, you’re probably going to stick with them for a while. And, obviously Cassie’s line’s had some chemistry for a while.”
With Simms out for the time being, Hall stepped into Simms’ longtime spot on the power play; Hall delivered on her first opportunity.
After an initial shot from the point by defender Caroline Harvey, Mavericks goaltender Hailey Hansen failed to cover the corner to her left on the rebound. Hall raced to the loose puck in the faceoff circle and slapped it into the net, giving her team a 1-0 lead, less than five minutes in.
“You put Cassie over there because she’s right-handed, she can go downhill, similar to what Simms does in that position,” Johnson said of Hall’s elevation. “And can you make plays off it? It was a good way to start the game, with a goof opportunity early in the game on a power play and then capitalizing on it.”
Despite missing out on a second goal-scoring chance when Hansen stopped Hall on a breakaway chance, Hall recorded a second point, assisting on UW’s fourth goal of the game.
The South Lyon, Michigan native intercepted a D-to-D pass behind the MSU net from Mavericks winger (and sister of former Wisconsin men’s hockey forward now turned Michigan State Spartan Charlie Stramel), intended for Mika Cichosz. Hall delivered a tape-to-tape pass to Gorbatenko. Gorbatenko, who was left all alone in front of the net, hammered home a one-timer for the final goal of the day.
“That’s how players get chances: create opportunities, intercept passes, understanding what’s going on in a game,” Johnson said of Hall’s efforts to disrupt the play behind the net. “If I can anticipate things, I might put myself in a position to score a goal, or get an opportunity, or make a play.”
Claire Enright showcases ‘high Hockey IQ’ in new top-line role
Another beneficiary of Johnson’s lineup changes was Claire Enright. The senior recorded her first point of the season last week in the Ice Breaker Tournament Championship Game. She followed that up by scoring her first goal of the season, alongside some new linemates, in the series-opener against MSU.
While Hall replaced Simms on the power play, Enright slid into Simms’ spot in Wisconsin’s top line at five-on-five. The swap is a testament to Enright’s mentality, giving her the ability to play alongside potential future Olympians Adéla Šapovalivová and Lacey Eden.
“Adéla’s got a real high Hockey IQ, Eden’s in the same space, so, one of the reasons we put [Enright] there, is she can think alike,” Johnson said. “Whether she has the puck or doesn’t has the puck, they can compliment each other as they go around the ice.”
With a goal and an assist, Enright perfectly complemented the top line, particularly on her assist to Šapovalivová.
“I think you just have to kind of play your game no matter where you are in the lineup,” Enright said of her new place in Wisconsin’s shuffled lineup. “One day you may be on the third line, one day you may be on the fourth line, and you may get bumped up. You have no idea. So you just kind of have to play your role, and, no matter what, play your game.”
What, for a moment, appeared to be a broken play, quickly turned on its head. Enright forced a turnover directly in front of Hansen, poking the puck off the stick of MSU defender Lauren Zawoyski. Šapovalivová, following the play on the rush, picked up the loose puck and tucked it past Hansen’s right leg, doubling UW’s lead to 2-0.
“You never know where the puck can come from,” Šapovalivová said of the goal. “So, you just have to be ready, and then wait for the chance, and then put it in the net. It was just a lucky goal, but it counts.”
Later, Enright scored, not solely because of her talented teammates, but because of a tremendous individual effort. A breakout pass from UW defender Emma Venusio sent Enright, starting from behind the Badger blue line, up the right wing. From there, the Farmington, Minnesota native skated the length of the ice, careening around Cichosz at the bottom of the faceoff circle, protecting the puck on her backhand.
“Coach talked a lot about how we can use our speed and beat them wide, and go right to the paint,” Enright said of the process behind her goal. “He always harps on us that we should always take the puck to the paint, and so right when I got the puck, I was like, ‘I’m just gonna go to the net and see what happens. And hopefully, if there’s a rebound, someone crashes the net.’”
No rebound was needed, as Enright quickly moved the puck to her forehand and flipped it over Hansen’s left leg.
Thank you for visiting BadgerBreakaway.com – With your support, we are quickly becoming a leading independent source for news, analysis, and intel on the Wisconsin Badgers hockey and basketball teams.