BRIANNA DECKER
"You really can't fill someone's shoes like that," Decker said of 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Meghan Duggan. "But I want to get close to it.''
ing and that's how my game has grown on the ice,'' she said.
As a sophomore, Decker played with Meghan Duggan, the 2011
Patty Kazmaier Award winner. "She really pushed me and gave me a lot of confi- dence to be able to play at this level,'' Decker said.
Decker was first ex-
posed to Duggan dur- ing the Olympic tryouts prior to her freshman season with the Bad- gers.
Decker didn't make
"He has mentioned my accuracy to me be- fore,'' she said. To this end, Johnson related a conversation
that he had with Steve Yzerman, who scored 692 goals during his illustrious Hall of Fame career with the Detroit Red Wings. They had visited for about 10 minutes after a practice when Yzerman excused himself. "He says, 'I've got to go back on the ice and work on my shot,''' said Johnson, still shaking his head at the memory.
"Here's a guy who had scored over 500 NHL
goals (at that stage of his career) and he's work- ing on his shot after practice. It's like golfers working on little things. Good players fine-tune their game.'' Decker has been doing that since her fresh- man year when a broken wrist sidelined her for nine games. "I've focused on my off-ice train-
38 » VARSITY JANUARY 26, 2012
the cut, but she chalked it up as another learn- ing experience. Duggan was an Olympian and the
quintessential captain, along with being a men- tor to Decker. "She was always positive (in the locker room); I never heard one negative thing come out of her mouth,'' Decker said. "That really reflects on the team chemistry. "Even when she personally wasn't perform-
ing like she wanted to (on the ice), she never let that affect the team. She made sure the team was upbeat and ready to go. "You really can't fill some- one's shoes like that. "But I want to get close to
it.''
One thing she may have learned from Duggan is how to deal with high expectations.
» Decker sent the Badgers to the Frozen Four final last year with her game-winner against Boston College with just 48 seconds remaining in the national semifinal.
DAVID STLUKA
