Talk about a hockey lover’s dream.
This weekend, both University of Wisconsin hockey teams will travel to Minneapolis for a Border Battle showdown with their Minnesota counterparts.
Friday through Sunday, the Twin Cities will play host to four of the best hockey squads in the nation, with all four teams being ranked among the top 15 in the most recent polls.
For starters, there is the men’s matchup, No. 15 Wisconsin taking on No. 5 Minnesota in a battle of the third and fourth place teams in the WCHA, respectively.
As if they needed any more motivation against each other, both squads will enter the weekend hungry for a win after disappointing weekends.
The Gophers were swept last weekend in a home-and-home series with Minnesota State, losing by a 6-2 margin Friday in Mankato, Minn., and again at home Saturday, a 3-1 loss.
Although Minnesota holds a decisive 28-5-6 edge over Minnesota State in the all-time series, more recent meetings have been very competitive, including three overtime games in last year’s WCHA first round playoff series, a series that resulted in a Minnesota victory.
The Badgers enter the matchup with the Gophers having split a weekend series at home against the Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth. After moving into second place in the league standings with a 3-1 win Friday, Wisconsin slipped to third with a tough 1-0 loss to UMD.
Saturday’s loss was marked by senior forward Tom Gorowsky’s miss on an open-net shot in the first period, an opportunity that would have given UW an early 1-0 lead and control of the game. The shot was much easier than the one Gorowsky made with 4.2 seconds remaining Friday to seal the Badgers’ 3-1 victory.
With UW sitting just two points behind WCHA leader Denver and Minnesota only three points behind the Badgers, the stakes are high in the weekend series, which should lead to two fierce battles between the border rivals.
The game should be a physical one as Minnesota and Wisconsin sit atop the WCHA in penalty minutes in conference play, averaging 24.6 and 22.2 minutes, respectively. With so many power play opportunities, the games could come down to penalty killing, a category in which Wisconsin and Minnesota lead the WCHA as well, killing 92.5 percent and 90.8 percent of power plays, respectively.
Beyond this year’s statistics, Wisconsin and Minnesota are two of the nation’s most storied men’s hockey programs, having won a combined 11 championships and ranking fourth and fifth in the NCAA for most championships.
More recently, Minnesota won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003, and the Badgers won their sixth national championship just three years ago under the direction of current head coach Mike Eaves.
On the women’s side, the Badgers and Gophers will face off in a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup.
Although Wisconsin lost its top-ranking two weeks ago after losing 4-0 and tying 3-3 in a series at then-No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth, head coach Mark Johnson’s squad is back atop the rankings in the most recent poll, with Minnesota moving back down to No. 2.
Both teams will head into the series at Ridder Arena following weekend sweeps. The Gophers defeated Minnesota State in Mankato, Minn., 9-1 and 7-4, and the Badgers earned a pair of 7-0 victories over Ohio State at home.
The two squads lead the WCHA in nearly every category, including scoring offense and defense. The Badgers and Gophers each average more than five goals per game offensively while allowing less than two per game.
Individually, a pair of scorers for each squad makes up the top four scoring leaders in the WCHA. Twin sisters Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux of Minnesota rank first and third, respectively, and Wisconsin forwards Hilary Knight and Erika Lawler round out the top four ranking second and fourth.
Since the NCAA began sponsoring women’s hockey as a Division I sport in the 2000-01 season, only three teams have claimed the national title, two of which being Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Although Minnesota Duluth leads them both with four titles, the Gophers and Badgers have each won back-to-back titles, with Minnesota winning in 2003 and 2004 and UW in 2006 and 2007 before losing to UMD in 2008.
Adding to the excitement is last week’s announcement of UW’s Johnson as the head coach of the 2010 USA Olympic team. Surely, many of the players in this weekend’s series will be among those selected for Johnson’s 2010 Olympic squad.
Hockey fans will be able to get their fill this weekend beginning Friday evening with the men’s matchup at Mariucci Arena and ending Sunday afternoon with the women’s game at Ridder Arena.
Any fans lucky enough to attend all four games in less than 48 hours will almost certainly be treated to some of the best hockey they’ve seen all year.
Jordan is a junior majoring in journalism and political science. Going to the Wisconsin-Minnesota hockey games this weekend? Share your thoughts with Jordan at [email protected].
