The four time and defending National Champion Women’s Hockey program begins it’s post season
run ranked #1 in the nation and having won the regular season WCHA title. They face a 1st round best of three series against Minnesota State, who finished the regular season at the bottom of the WCHA standings.
Wisconsin hosts the games at the Eagles Nest Ice Arena in Verona and the series is a Friday-Saturday-Sunday(if needed) format with the first two games taking place at 7pm Central. The Badgers are coming off a regular season ending split series with Ohio State, winning 7-1 on Friday afternoon and dropping the finale, 4-2 on Senior Day.
The regular season series between these two first round opponents was a sweep by the Badgers, winning 4-0 and 5-1 at Mankato and winning 5-2 and 6-0 at the Kohl Center.
Minnesota State comes in sporting a 7-26-1 overall record and finished the WCHA season with just 10 points on a 3-24-1 conference record. They are led by junior forwards Lauren Smith and Lauren Zrust who both have 19 points. Smith leads the team in goals with 9 (10 assists) while Zrust has 6 goals and 13 assists. Leading the Mavericks in assists for the season was yet another Lauren, Lauren Barnes, with 14 assists.
Between the pipes for the Mavericks has been the tandem of Alli Altmann and Danielle Butters with Altmann having a 6-18-1 record (.890 save percentage & 3.52 goals against average) while Butters had a 1-8-0 record (.886 save percentage & 3.72 goals against average).
On the other hand Wisconsin will counter with their three Patty Kazmaier Award nominees in forwards Hilary Knight and Brianna Decker along with goalie Alex Rigsby. Knight and Decker lead a Badgers offense that led the WCHA in scoring, averaging 4.65 goals a game. Add in a defense that was 2nd best in the WCHA, giving up only 1.47 goals a game and you have a very consistent and good recipe for success.
This series shouldn’t go the distance as the Badgers look to move on to the Women’s Final Face Off next weekend in Duluth, MN. I’m calling a 6-1 and 5-0 sweep of the playoff series as the Badgers advance in their goal of repeating as National Champions.
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