With just four games left in the regular season, the fifth-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team (20-5-3, 14-5-1 WCHA) will focus their attention on tenth-ranked Ohio State (14-11-3, 10-10-2 WCHA) in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series in Columbus, Ohio. While the Buckeyes will be the main focus of the Badgers this weekend, the team will also have an eye on the scoreboard to see if they can move up in the WCHA or the national rankings.
Ohio State comes into the weekend series off of a tough test against then top-ranked Minnesota. The Buckeyes played the series much like they have played all season, inconsistently. After earning a 1-1 tie in a well-played game on Friday evening, the Buckeyes came out flat in a 6-0 loss to the Gophers. The series epitomized the Buckeyes’ season as they have played well enough to beat some of the nation’s top teams and then poorly enough to lose to some of the worst.
Wisconsin saw both sides of Ohio State in the first meeting between the two clubs as the Badgers and Buckeyes split the series. OSU came away with a 3-2 win in game one before UW came back and took the second game 3-1.
Ohio State is a balanced team that does nothing exceptionally well but at the same time does not have many weaknesses. They are led in scoring by sophomore winger Jana Harrigan who has 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points. Junior Meghan Mulvaney (9-10-19) has also played well this season and can be the thorn in the side of any opponent. The real wild card on the Ohio State attack is junior Jeni Creary (5-9-14). Creary, who is just three points shy of the school’s all-time points mark, has been the Buckeyes’ leading scorer the past two seasons. While she is way off of her production mark from a year ago, Creary has certainly proven that she is a dangerous offensive player and could explode at any time this year.
Defensively, the Buckeyes have struggled at times, despite having two of the top defenders in the WCHA. Emma Laaksonen, who is just two points shy of the Ohio State career points mark, is one of the team’s senior leaders. Along side of her at the blue-line is freshman Tessa Bonhomme, who has excelled in her first year for the Buckeyes.
Between the pipes for Ohio State is junior Melissa Glaser. Glaser’s goals against average is near the bottom in the WCHA at 2.41, but her save percentage is near the top at .919. While Glaser stops well over 90 percent of the shots she faces, her defense has at times given up so many shots that some were bound to find their way into the net.
The biggest difference between the Badger team that played the Buckeyes in early November and the team that heads to Columbus this weekend is the play of freshmen Sara Bauer and Lindsay Macy. The duo has combined for over half of the team’s offense over the four weekends they have been paired together. Along with line-mate Sharon Cole, the group has provided Wisconsin with some consistency in the offensive zone.
The other factor will be the goaltending. In the first meeting sophomore Meghan Horras gave up some soft goals to the Buckeyes in the 3-2 loss. Since that game Horras has been one of the top goaltenders in the nation, sporting the best GAA in the nation at 1.17. Her save percentage of .941 is third best in the country. Expect her to come out wanting to prove her last game against the Buckeyes was nothing more than a fluke.
While the Badgers have control over what happens in Columbus this weekend, what they have no control over is their postseason destiny. Sitting just percentage points behind fourth-ranked St. Lawrence and third-ranked Dartmouth for the final spot in the Frozen Four, the Badgers will have to watch the scoreboard to see if there is room for them in the top four. With Dartmouth set to square off with top-ranked Harvard and St. Lawrence to face off with 16th-ranked Colgate, the Badgers will likely be interested in the results out east.
In the WCHA title race Wisconsin is still three points behind leader Minnesota. The Gophers have a strong test this weekend as third place Minnesota-Duluth visits Minneapolis. If the Badgers and Bulldogs can both sweep their respective series, the Badgers would take over the top spot in the conference.
While games outside of Columbus could determine the Badger’s fate this season, the Buckeyes should still be the center of attention. If Wisconsin fails to take care of business in Columbus, the rest of the games around the country will mean very little.
