Sometimes life just doesn’t make sense.
With the strongest record in the nation and a recent, intense come-from-behind win Saturday, the Wisconsin women’s hockey team can’t quite explain why it will be hosting reigning NCAA-champion Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this Saturday night.
“They say the number one seed, Wisconsin, and everybody’s excited,” head coach Mark Johnson said in his Monday press conference. “Then they put the brackets up and put your team name up there, and then they come up with who we’re going to play, and everybody’s like, what? Where did that come from? I don’t have an explanation.”
After a dramatic 5-4 overtime victory over Minnesota, the Badgers won the WCHA Final Face-off, earning them the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s automatic berth to the national championship. Still on an emotional high, the squad was shocked when Sunday night’s selection show aired.
“I feel bad for the athletes,” Johnson said. “I feel bad for the players just from the standpoint that you play 36 games. We start, you know, September 15. It’s a long season. You end up having a great year, putting yourself in a real strong position and then you get kicked right in the belly.”
With the Badgers feeling more punished than protected, many are questioning whether the committee is purposely trying to limit the number of WCHA teams in the Final Four. Between Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the conference has won every national championship up to this point.
“You look at the way things were put in place in ’07, you look at how they were put in place in ’08, and now I look at, you know, this season, and none of it makes sense,” Johnson said. “To me, especially protecting the one and two seeds was pretty black and white. But we’ve got all our teams now on one side of the equation.”
Without an explanation, Johnson and his team are forced to take things one game at a time, looking ahead at their matchup with Minnesota-Duluth. This season, UMD went 1-2-1 in two overtime games against UW, and as the reigning NCAA champions, the Bulldogs should prove to be a tough opponent for the Badgers.
“Hopefully we’ll have a big crowd and they’ll be entertained with a very good hockey game,” said Johnson. “The winner gets an opportunity to go represent our league at the Frozen Four, so there’s a lot at stake.”
Against Minnesota, Wisconsin seemed relentless offensively and found a way to win with an overtime goal by Kelly Nash. The University of Wisconsin band also made the trip up to Ridder Arena, giving Badger fans extra excitement in an already dramatic game.
“Having the band up there, I certainly want to thank them Saturday for making the trip up to Ridder Arena and being part of our championship game up there, because they made a difference,” Johnson said. “It created some excitement and brought some enthusiasm to our bench and to the rink we played in.”