View area storm coverage and share your photos.

Milewski: Lawler again proves she's a big-time player in a small package

Todd D. Milewski  —  3/22/2008 6:47 am

DULUTH, Minn. -- There's a really bad joke waiting to be made about the time-tested hockey cliche -- a team's big players have to play big in big games -- and Erika Lawler.

Lawler, you see, is the University of Wisconsin's smallest women's hockey player, standing just 5-foot even. It seems there's no end to the ribbing she gets about it, even from teammates at a table in front of the media.

That's just fine, as long as there's no end to what she brought the Badgers in a critical situation Thursday.

Lawler wasn't the only standout performer in the 4-1 victory over top-ranked Harvard that put the Badgers one victory away from a third straight national championship, but she led the charge with intensity and heart.

"I don't know how she does it sometimes," teammate Jinelle Zaugg said.

How she did it Thursday was by pulling the Badgers out of a deficit and then being a big part of the play that cemented their lead and a spot in Saturday's title game against Minnesota-Duluth.

It's nothing that her teammates haven't seen before, but it's always a little more important when your season, all you worked for and all you dreamed of is on the line.

Lawler gave the Badgers exactly what they needed when they needed it, the sign of a big-time player.

The timing was the huge part on the first goal in which she had a hand; the effort was key on the second.

Wisconsin trailed 1-0 after a first period in which it looked nervous and willing to be just a participant rather than a player, in the words of Badgers coach Mark Johnson.

The first shift of the second period set the tone for the rest of the game.

Lawler took the puck away from Sarah Vaillancourt, Harvard's Patty Kazmaier Award finalist, and cycled in front of the net to get off a backhand that snuck past goaltender Christina Kessler. The goal, which came just 18 seconds into the period, further energized the Badgers' bench after a positive intermission.

It was reminiscent of a sequence five days earlier, when Hilary Knight scored 14 seconds into the third period, tying a quarterfinal game against Minnesota that the Badgers went on to win in overtime.

"Anything to get the team going on the bench, that's the big thing," said Lawler, who has 12 goals on the season. "Everyone's got to get back into it. When you're down, everyone's holding their stick a little tight. I think that tying goal made everyone loosen up a little bit. You breathe."

Wisconsin breathed a lot easier when Lawler made another play less than seven minutes later, following up on a goal by third-liner Jasmine Giles that gave the Badgers the lead.

Lawler gave UW some space with a gritty effort. She got crunched by a Harvard player behind the Crimson net, drawing a delayed penalty.

She got right back to her skates and tracked down the puck in the left corner, then fed Zaugg for a blast that made it 3-1 and boosted her team-high assist total to 28.

It was one of those plays that made you take notice of Lawler's ability to change a game.

"She got beat up and hit and she still got up and controlled the puck and made a great pass," Badgers goaltender Jessie Vetter said. "She's just a great player."

Said Zaugg: "Honestly, I can't remember a game where she hasn't played very well. She's got a lot of energy, and it shows in the way she skates and handles the puck. That energy definitely carries to the players."

Zaugg and Vetter gave the Badgers big efforts, too.

Zaugg scored twice, giving her nine goals in nine career NCAA tournament games.

"I think it's the pressure. I love playing under pressure," she said. "Half our team's the same way. You step up when you need to, and I think that shows a good team."

Vetter recovered from allowing a first-period power-play goal to shut down the Crimson, ending its Division I women's hockey record winning streak at 21 games.

The junior goaltender from Cottage Grove improved to 8-0 in NCAA tournament games.

"Something else comes into us once we get to the Frozen Four," Vetter said, "and you want to play your best game."

For her part, Lawler doesn't really buy into the whole big-game notion. Or maybe she just doesn't think it applies individually.

"It's not just certain people playing big; it's everyone as a whole," she said. "You can't win a championship if everyone's not in it. Yeah, our big players played big, but you know what? Everyone played big, and that's what's you need the most to win a championship."

The Badgers are one more big game away.

Todd D. Milewski  —  3/22/2008 6:47 am