Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Duluth
Feb. 12, 2017
Madison, Wis. - LaBahn Arena

Head Coach Mark Johnson
On what it's been like to get to this point:
"I think the way the whole season has transpired, you have to give the senior class and out leadership group a lot of credit because at the beginning of the year, everybody looks at you and puts you up there, it's a tough task. It takes a lot of commitment, it takes a lot of consistency, it takes a lot of dedication on the part of the players. Like I just told them, hats off to them, they've been able to do it. It's a trophy that takes a long time to win, certainly out senior class has a lot of things to be proud of because they've had a big impact."
 
On the confidence level:
"I think we've been a pretty confident team all season. There's been different peaks and valleys, no different than other seasons, but the one thing we've had is we've had good work habits, good consistency from start to finish and if you're able to do that for a long period of time, generally you're going to win a lot of hockey games. We've been able to meet the challenges and some of the adversity we've had over the course of the winter. Again, hats off to the group, they've improved and we're a better team than we were in September and that's always a real positive thing. Obviously our next two games up in Minneapolis will help us prepare as we get ready for the playoffs the following weekend."
 
On the depth of the team:
"That's been a real positive thing, to have depth and scoring. Some of the younger players have stepped up at given times. I thought Abby Roque had a real solid game, not only yesterday but played very well again today. So those are things that we as the coaching staff look for that growth. A lot of those young players have grown up and are now veterans. It was a good scripted day. You would maybe like to see Sarah (Nurse) score a goal, or Sydney (McKibbon) or my daughter (Mikayla Johnson), or one of the defensemen, Jenny (Ryan), or Mellissa (Channell), but Ann-Renee (Desbiens) got another shutout. Her numbers still seem to amaze me even though she continues to put them up there, it is phenomenal. It was a good script day, we had a great crowd, great energy and everybody is going to leave the rink today happy."
 
On this weekend as a whole:
"It was mixed. I thought yesterday we just played a little tentative at times, a lot of things are going on with parents' weekend and seniors' weekend and with everybody around. Are you ready and focused to play? And yesterday we played okay, but if you want to really push yourself and win this thing you have to go the extra mile. We came back on short notice and came out today and played a really solid game. I'm pleased with the outcome today and I'm looking forward to the banquet we are going to have and then going home and relaxing for a few. It's been a good weekend but an emotional one at the same time."
 
On Desbiens getting her 50th shutout:
"As you know, I'm not that big into numbers, I know I was getting interviewed before the game and mentioned how many shutouts she had and the number of games she's played. It's pretty impressive, it might time somebody who knows how long to get that many shutouts, but with all her family down there and relatives and what not, it's just a great way to send everybody out. I'm happy for all those kids because I know they all had family come out."
 
On Baylee Wellhausen's hat trick:
"I think she felt pressure yesterday because she missed a golden opportunity in the first period and Tony (Granato) was right behind the plexiglass and stuck his big mug out and they connected eyes. She's had a great year, scored a bunch of big goals for us and came up huge today."
 
On Abby Roque's weekend:
"The thing that impressed me probably the most was the consistency in her play from what she did yesterday into today on a short rest. Sometimes with younger players, that second night's energy might not be there but she was good in a lot of areas and certainly scored a big goal to start the game off for us today."


Ann-Renée Desbiens
On the game as a whole:
"It's pretty special, of course Senior Day is kind of sad but my teammates made sure that we had a lot of fun. We ended up with a trophy at the end of the day so that was pretty cool for the seniors. Not a lot of teams can say that they got a trophy on Senior Day so that feels really special for us right now."

On her 50th career shutout:
"I saved it for today, actually. No, it's really fun. It's pretty impressive, I cannot believe it. When they said that I was like, 'oh, that's pretty cool.' So definitely a good day, it just makes it a little more special."

On playing in LaBahn on Senior Day:
"Pretty special to be able to play the No. 2 team in the country for Senior Day. It was a good hockey game and we came out really strong today and made sure the pucks were rolling our way and going to the net with bodies because that wasn't happening yesterday. We were definitely happy with the effort of the team. I know Baylee scored a hat trick, that helped us a little bit. Definitely less stressful than yesterday too."

On what this says about the team:
"I think we showed a lot, we showed that we can come back from a tie and do even better the day after. We're fit, we have a lot of energy and you never know what you're going to get. It's the No. 2 team in the country and we really outplayed them today."

On her family attending the game:
"It was my niece's first time, and for one of my brothers, so they thought it was really special. She came to Clarkson and she thought that was super fun and I was like, 'No, you need to come here (LaBahn)' and they decided to come for senior weekend. I know she had a blast, I could see the smile on her face and I know she had a couple tears. She got to ride the zamboni yesterday, so definitely a lot of fun for them."

On the confidence level after the game:
"We're playing two really good teams at the end of the season so it's definitely nice to learn about ourselves and knowing what we can do, like what we just did out there."


Baylee Wellhausen
On watching the senior class hoist the WCHA trophy:
"It was amazing, honestly I'm pretty speechless about it. Seeing them before the game, all their emotions and their families there, they were going into the game with this energy that they were just so happy to play, to just go out there for their families and for themselves and I think that transferred to the rest of us. I think that's what gave us that success today actually."

On how the atmosphere affected her game:
"Honestly I was just having fun out there, that's kind of what coach was saying before the game, 'go out there and have fun.' The seniors were saying the same thing. We really wanted to win that regular season championship and we knew we had to check that off before going into playoff mode. But we went out there and just had fun."

On when her last hat trick was:
"Never. I mean in high school, I think, probably a while ago. I can't even remember. But this was my first Badger hat trick so that was pretty exciting. The look on my face probably showed you I had no idea.

"I tipped it, I felt it go in. Soph had a great shot on that last one, so I owe it to her.

"That was a pretty cool experience, I've never been on the ice when people were throwing hats so that was surreal."

On playing Minnesota next weekend:
"The Gophers are our biggest rivals, we know that we're going to have to take this momentum and channel it and stay focused going into this next weekend."

On the senior class:
"They are amazing leaders, they all lead in different ways which is really cool. Syd (McKibbon) is that quiet leader. She leads on the ice always working hard, working her best. In between periods she has the best things to say, always the right things.

"(Sarah) Nurse is just, on and off the ice, phenomenal. Mikayla (Johnson) is super positive all the time, constantly on the bench. (Mellissa) Channell and Jenny (Ryan) lead out there as well, they're just great leaders. They're so awesome I could honestly go on and on about how great they are on and off the ice.

"What can I say about Ann-Renée (Desbiens), you know? She is just a brick wall there all the time. She's so sweet, she gave me the hard hat after the game. She's an awesome leader.

"They always were a really fun class, ever since I've been here and I was so excited for them to be seniors just to see how they would lead this team. They've honestly exceeded my expectations and I'm excited to see where it's going to take us. It's going to be sad having them leave so I'm excited to kind of finish the ride with them and hopefully we'll be able to get a championship."