Congratulations!

...to the University of Wisconsin women's hockey team: the NCAA champions in their sport. The Badgers won decisively, 3-0, over the Minnesota Gophers, two-time defending national champs.

UW's men's hockey team yesterday advanced to the Frozen Four, with a triple OT win over Cornell. UW will see Maine next, while North Dakota faces off against Boston College.
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Some more championship pictures; with Coach Johnson; "Moving Forward"; and "Teamwork".

And "On Wisconsin" for the men...
(photo courtesy of Dale Steenberg)
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One more story, this one from columnist Patrick Reusse in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
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Wisconsin started women's hockey in 1999, two years after Minnesota started its program. Now, the Badgers have caught and passed the Gophers, at least in this short term.

Mark Johnson, the son of the late, legendary Badger Bob, was an assistant to Jeff Sauer with the men's team for a half-dozen seasons, starting in 1996. The assumption of many was that he would take over when Sauer stepped aside. That came after the Badgers went 14-18-4 in 2001-02.

Mike Eaves was hired. Johnson was said to be very upset, although it did not prevent him from taking the women's job. Johnson was 2-11-1 in his first three seasons against Minnesota. This season, he was 5-1 vs. the Gophers on the way to the national title.

Whatever the Eaves-Johnson relationship, they seem to have created a Wisconsin brand of hockey: emphasize defense, strike after turnovers and make sure you have excellent goaltending.

It could be that Barry Alvarez, the football coach turned full-time athletic director, has himself the best coaches for both on-ice genders in the WCHA. And if any Gophers fan wants to argue, the believers in Bucky Badger have an answer:

"Ho-leee Cross, dunt dunt ... dunt da dunt."