The 2021-22 Wisconsin women’s hockey season came to an end this past weekend. The Badgers fell in the regional final at the hands of No. 3 seed Northeastern who they had defeated in the national championship game last season.
It was ultimately a disappointing season for Wisconsin. It took until game 17 to be handed a loss, but the Badgers struggled significantly more than usual in conference play. The high-scoring offense that University of Wisconsin fans had grown accustomed to in the beginning of the year and in seasons past suddenly began to fade.
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While that is not to say that Wisconsin was a bad team this season, since the program was started it has been national champion or bust, and in a season where they failed to reach the Frozen Four for the first time in eight years, it certainly doesn’t qualify as a success for Mark Johnson’s team.
This result is not something that UW fans have grown used to, especially considering the experienced talent still lingering around the team. But, it is important to remember and recognize the amazing contributions of the seniors on this year’s roster.
The senior crew of Kennedy Blair, Grace Bowlby, Delaney Drake, Kendra Nealey, Brette Pettet, Maddie Posick, Caitlin Schneider and Daryl Watts gave everything they had to this program. While they all had different routes to Wisconsin, and completely different careers in Madison, these eight players brought back-to-back national championships to the university and their accomplishments need to be celebrated.
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While the season was ultimately unsuccessful, the Badgers will, as usual, reload on talent and prepare for another deep run in next year’s NCAA tournament. They return arguably the most skilled lineup in women’s college hockey, and receive a boost with the potential returns of Britta Curl, Lacey Eden and Natalie Buchbinder.
It was an underwhelming season in Madison, but it doesn’t seem like it will be long before the Badgers are back in heavy contention for national title number seven.
