Coming off a pair of losses to top ranked Minnesota, the Wisconsin women’s hockey team (4-2-0, 0-2-0) will look to rebound against Ohio State (0-4-0, 0-4-0) this Saturday and Sunday at the Kohl Center. Both teams will be looking for their first conference wins of the season.
Both UW and OSU are entering their fifth season of play and have generally finished each season very close in the standings; however their head-to-head meetings have been very one-sided. The Badgers hold a 12-1-5 all-time advantage over the Buckeyes including a 4-0-1 mark in their five meetings last season.
The Buckeyes were picked by the coaches to finish fourth in the WCHA this season, although they will have to overcome a difficult early schedule that has had them traveling to number one Minnesota, then hosting defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth, and now on to seventh ranked Wisconsin. Being swept in their first two series, this weekend’s games are of vital importance to OSU.
The Buckeyes are led in scoring by sophomore Jana Harrigan who has tallied 3 goals thus far. Junior Jeni Creary is the team’s leading scorer from last season, but has not been able to get on track thus far, scoring just one goal. Keeping Creary and her line-mates Jennifer Desson and Meaghan Mulvaney off the scoreboard will greatly improve Wisconsin’s chances of success this weekend. Beyond their attack, another strength for Ohio State is between the pipes, where junior Melissa Glaser returns after sitting out last season with a torn ACL. Her strong play is important as OSU has a young set of defensemen.
For the Badgers, this is a key series as they look to get back into the win column. Wisconsin played very well against Minnesota last week but came up short on the scoreboard. If the team continues to play that well they should expect good results against OSU, but any hangover from the U of M series could result in Wisconsin finding themselves in quite a hole to start the WCHA season.
The Badgers will again use their talented and experienced defense to slow down the Buckeyes’ attack and set up the offense. Wisconsin will need freshman Sara Bauer to improve on her team-leading seven points, as well as getting more production out of veteran players such as Meghan Hunter, who have yet to hit their stride. With two road series coming up, the Badgers need to secure two conference wins at home or face an uphill battle the rest of the season.
