MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin women’s hockey team easily handled its toughest test of the season this weekend in front of a pair of sold-out crowds at LaBahn Arena.
After a decisive 7-0 win on Saturday, the Badgers earned a 3-1 victory on Sunday to push their season record to 14-0-0.
The Buckeyes were one of two other undefeated teams in the country heading into the weekend meetup, but they were unable to unseat the top-ranked Badgers.
More than being undefeated, the Badgers come out of their past two weekends with a ton of confidence, something crucial for such a young team.
“Obviously, you want to win and that’s why we play the game, but more importantly in the big picture now we’re getting better against this competition. That’s something to build on,” said coach Mark Johnson.
It’s disingenuous to paint the Badgers as an underdog, but the players were aware of the preseason chatter as well as how people expected them to fare against tough competition the past two weeks.
“People thought we weren’t going to sweep (the last two weekends) and we did. I think that just shows when we really put our heads together and work together as a team, we can do a lot of good things,” said captain Claudia Kepler.
It wasn’t the series Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall envisioned for her team. But while disappointment might be the theme of the weekend, it’s early in the season. If there were ever a time for a gut-check moment, early November isn’t a bad time to have one.
“I think we came out to play and try to win and be competitive versus just trying to survive (today). … There were moments of things that we did well, we just have to build off that,” Muzerall said. “If we can get back home and start tightening up things that I know we can do better, I’ll feel more confident for next weekend.”
Goalkeeper Kassidy Sauve was beyond spectacular for the Buckeyes on Sunday. Wisconsin put 50 shots on goal while attempting 88. Time and time again, Sauve made multiple saves in a row, including on two separate Badgers breakaways. Ohio State will spend time looking at each of the Badgers’ goals on Sunday, as they were all scored on chances that came after the initial save from Sauve.
Ohio State responded to Saturday’s drubbing by coming out stronger on Sunday. After tallying a single shot in the opening frame in the first meeting, the Buckeyes were able to put pressure on Wisconsin’s defense through the first few shifts and the first period ended scoreless.
Mikaela Gardner finally put the Badgers on the board just about midway through the game as a power play was expiring. Wisconsin put five shots on Sauve from close range and she did a stellar job keeping them at bay with no help from her defense. But it was the sixth shot that Gardner buried so hard it stuck in the back netting, giving the Badgers the lead.
Alexis Mauermann scored her third of the weekend through traffic. Sauve didn’t seem to see the puck as it slid past her to give the Badgers a 2-0 lead.
Kepler scored through the third period after Sauve once again made a couple of big saves but her defense could not clear the puck. The rebound came out to Kepler, who scored unassisted to extend the lead to 3-0.
It was an especially sweet goal for Kepler, who transferred to Wisconsin from Ohio State before last season and sat out a year before hitting the ice this year. Not only did she get the personal satisfaction, but it was an important goal late in the game to extend the Badgers lead.
“Our line was getting so many chances, it was just good to have us pop one in late in the game,” she said. “We still had a two-goal lead after (Ohio State scored), so it was pretty comforting just to have that oomph there at the end.”
With the wins this weekend, the Badgers took a commanding lead in the WCHA — they are now five points clear of Minnesota and seven points clear of the Buckeyes.
The Badgers head out to face Cornell, which as an Ivy League team has played only four games so far this season. After building on the energy of the crowds at LaBahn this weekend, it’ll be a long travel week to a very different atmosphere, but Kepler isn’t worried.
“You just take it game by game,” she said. “It’s really a fun experience and you’re just trying to enjoy it. We don’t want to look too far ahead. We weren’t expected to do this and I think we use that as motivation every day.”
