The University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team is heading to New York this weekend to take on the Syracuse Orange.
The Badgers and the Orange haven’t visited each other in almost a decade — the last time these two teams met on the ice was in 2008. During that fateful matchup, the Badgers managed to walk away with two victories, crushing the Orange 3-0 and 8-0 over two days of game play.
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Obviously, much has changed. This time, Wisconsin has managed to garner a grand total of five WCHA post-season titles, four WCHA regular season titles and two national championships.
In comparison, the Orange have been struggling a little bit to acquire the momentum needed to make it to a NCAA Frozen Four series. Although 2008 was the founding year of the Syracuse team, the Orange have struggled to accumulate a College Hockey America regular season or postseason title.
The Orange have not managed to start this season off well, with their first series against Bemidji State University resulting in a tie and a loss. During the second night of their series, the Beavers managed to sweep the Orange by a grand total of 5-0, which does not bode well for this Syracuse.
On the other hand, Wisconsin has been having an excellent start to their season thus far. The Badgers are currently 4-0 this season, looking at finishing out their non-conference season, at least in October, with a bang.
Wisconsin has been proving themselves as a dominant team this year, and that is largely due to this year’s freshmen and sophomore class. With the upperclassmen comprising a little less than half of the team this year, it is important the underclassmen are capable of holding themselves during their first few weeks of collegiate play.
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And that is what they have managed to do. Not only has this underclassmen group helped Wisconsin remain undefeated so far , but they also assisted UW in earning the first place national ranking this season, after the Badgers started their season out at number two.
Wisconsin has also been successful thanks to their goaltender Kristen Campbell. Campbell, who transferred to UW after the University of North Dakota canceled their women’s hockey program, has already left her mark at Wisconsin.
Campbell has held UW opponents back to only two goals this season, and has earned two shutouts during her time in net. She is showing signs of promise as the Badgers are looking at beginning their WCHA season later this month.
The Badgers and the Orange will meet on the ice Friday at 3 p.m. CT and Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Fans can keep up with the game via UW Athletics who will provide stats and, of course, find a recap here on the Badger Herald after the end of the second game.
