The regular season ended on a sour note Saturday for the Wisconsin women’s hockey after losing 4-2 to Ohio State on Senior Day.
It comes as just the third loss for the Badgers this season, who enter the postseason with a 29-3-2 record.
Wisconsin found itself in trouble early, falling victim to a 3-point deficit midway through the first period. UW made it interesting late in the third period when senior forward Carolyne Pr?vost cut the Buckeye lead to one, but the Badgers weren’t able to complete the comeback.
“We dug ourselves a hole really quickly, and if anything, I think we’re extremely proud of our perseverance throughout the game and being able to dig ourselves back out, but unfortunately we ran out of time,” forward Hilary Knight said.
The Badgers pulled goalie Alex Rigsby for the game’s final 21 seconds, but a turnover in the neutral zone resulted in an empty net goal for Ohio State, ending any chance of a last second comeback for Wisconsin.
UW struggled to produce numbers offensively, despite having seven more shots on goal than Ohio State. The Buckeyes played tough defensively, and particularly well in the neutral zone where they disrupted many fast break opportunities.
The Badgers remained positive after a rare defeat and didn’t hang their heads over the loss because they were proud of the way they fought back from a large deficit.
“We had a good effort coming back,” senior forward Brooke Ammerman said. “At least we gave ourselves an opportunity to tie the game and maybe win it. So that’s one of the bright sides, that we did come back and we did put a couple in the net, but we do have to realize that we can’t go down 3-0.”
It’s a difficult end to the regular season for the Badgers, but they remain focused on the road ahead.
“I mean it sucks, but there’s nothing you can do about it now,” Ammerman said. “You just move on to the playoffs and hopefully we’ll get the job done there.”
Knight remained more upbeat after the loss and believes it will help the team in the playoffs. No team enjoys losing, but it may be beneficial in refocusing the team.
“I think it’s great that we lost,” Knight said. “I mean, I hate losing but I think it really refocuses us. It’s hard to come back from a loss and then come work hard on Monday, but I know our team will do that. You know, I think it also instills the feeling that nothing is for granted from now on and we really have to come out in the first five minutes and not get down.”
Saturday’s loss came as a slight surprise, considering the Badgers had only lost two games in 33 contests and defeated the Buckeyes by a 7-1 score on Friday afternoon. That win made Wisconsin outright WCHA regular season champions for the fourth time in seven years.
Knight enjoys the WCHA crown, but thinks about the bigger picture heading into her final postseason as a Badger.
“Last night I was reflecting on my entire career here and how it’s game-by-game now,” Knight said. “It’s scary but I think I’ve had a wonderful four years here, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to go forward with.”
Head coach Mark Johnson emphasizes moving forward after this weekend and learning from mistakes. He will have his team focus on just one weekend at a time, starting with next weekend’s WCHA playoffs.
“It’s a lesson learned and you put it in the back of your mind, you put it in your back pocket and you move forward,” Johnson said. “It was a good season. You know, you never want to lose a game, especially on Senior Day, but you know it’s spilled milk right now. It’s over with and you move forward and get ready for next weekend’s playoff series.”
