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On coaching less, not more, he said, “It’s one of the things that experience teaches coaches – when to push the but- tons; when to step in; when not to step in; when to really back away. “You want to make sure the kids are paying attention to the details but you’re not over-coaching them. Experienced coaches learn that over the course of time and it helps them develop their teams.” Johnson stressed that the goal is always to play your best hockey at the end of the year. The 2010-11 Badgers took that to another level by finishing the season on a 27-game unbeaten streak. The last time Johnson was the losing coach was on Nov. 28, 2010. “If it wasn’t our best team, it’s in the con- versation,” he said. It always starts with the players, he agreed. “And we had good players,” he said. “But it was really a testament to the group that they became a team. Whether you were a top player or someone who didn’t dress much, everyone was part of the group and that’s what made this season so special: the chemistry. “The coaching part was enjoyable be- cause the players got along; they wanted to get better, they pushed and challenged each other. Some years you might have a Meghan Duggan took home plenty of hardware as the Badgers’ captain and leading point scorer. “Whether you were a top p group,” Johnson good group of players and the chemistry isn’t there or you have people who don’t get along and you have hurdles. “But this group from Day One was very close-knit; they were together. And for us, as coaches, it was very enjoyable going to practice every day and watching them compete with each other.” It’s hard to imagine any setbacks for a team that went 37-2-2. But Johnson was asked if there was any point during the season that could be labeled as a “cross- roads” for the players and coach. “Probably at the beginning of the season when we had five kids who had surgery over the previous spring and summer,” he said. “We weren’t sure what their availabil- ity was going to be. The second one would have been over Christmas break when we had three players with Team Canada. “There were kids on the fourth line who hadn’t been dressing and had to step up and take some of the playing minutes. It wasn’t like we had easy opponents during that time, either. But we beat Northeast- ern, a good Mercyhurst team and swept Ohio State (in Columbus).” The Badgers had star players in their returning Olympians: Meghan Duggan and Hilary Knight. The former led the nation in points (87) and won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award; the latter led the nation in goals (47). “Meghan was probably the best captain I’ve ever seen and I was a captain my- self in the National Hockey League for a couple of years,” Johnson said. “We knew