[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]After taking care of business in Minnesota and winning the WCHA tournament, Wisconsin's women's hockey team was rewarded with the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. It will host Harvard in the quarterfinal this weekend with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.

Confined to the Eagles Nest in Verona for their first round WCHA series, the Badgers will have the opportunity to host an NCAA game in the Kohl Center for the first time this weekend and will do so at 7 p.m. Saturday — a primetime slot for Wisconsin.

"We should have a good crowd," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "There should be a good atmosphere."

With Wisconsin's season at stake, playing at home should offer an advantage, according to Johnson.

"That's the fun; that's the excitement," Johnson said. "If you put four, five, six, seven thousand people in there, you've got the band, obviously the game itself … that's the enjoyment of this time of year.

"Everything is on the line, and you want to make sure you're playing well and able to move on to that next step."

Goalie situation undecided yet again

A decision loomed for the Wisconsin coaching staff in the WCHA tournament this weekend as to who would finally get the nod as the team's playoff goalie. But just like the Badgers have done all season, it was sophomore Jessie Vetter playing in the first game (a semifinal win over Ohio State) and senior Christine Dufour in the second (a championship win over Minnesota).

This weekend's NCAA tournament quarterfinal will feature only one game, meaning Johnson and his staff will be forced to make a decision as to who will be in goal.

But that doesn't mean they've come to a conclusion just yet.

"We'll get an opportunity the next couple of days to break down film and see what Harvard presents and what goalie may matchup the best in that situation," Johnson said. "With either Christine or Jessie, they both had solid years, they both put up outstanding numbers, and obviously the team is very comfortable with both."

Vetter recorded a shutout in her WCHA tournament appearance, but Dufour didn't do much worse, allowing just one goal in the championship game. Last season, Vetter, a freshman then, earned NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player honors for her job in net.

"Hopefully by Thursday we'll have a pretty good idea, and by Friday, we'll have confirmation," Johnson said.

Kazmaier finalists to play each other

Though the early speculation was that Wisconsin would be hosting Boston College in the first round, the pairing committee decided to send Harvard to Madison. This means two of the three Patty Kazmaier finalists will have a chance to face off against each other as Wisconsin forward Sara Bauer will go head-to-head with Harvard's top forward, senior Julie Chu.

Bauer may currently posses the most scoring records in Wisconsin history, but Chu, who led the nation with 66 points this season, can do last year's Kazmaier winner one better as she has 280 career points, tops in NCAA history.

Having coached Chu during the Four Nation's Cup in November, Johnson is very familiar with Harvard's top scorer.

"When I had [Chu] up in Kitchener [Ontario], I actually played her on defense, and I know [Harvard coach Katey Stone] played her up front and mixed her a little bit more so up at center," Johnson said. "She's got experience at the Olympic level; she is and will be a big part of our group going up to Winnipeg in April."

Johnson also recognizes the similarities between Chu and his own Kazmaier finalist, Bauer.

"[Chu's] the player that makes that team go, as with Sara on our team," Johnson said. "Sara does a lot of wonderful things for us … killed penalties, played the penalty, logs a lot of time, and you'll probably hear the same thing about Julie. Whether you're talking about Sara or Julie, you're getting the keys to both teams."