The WCHA regular season title is within reach with just six regular season games remaining.
As we approach the last few weeks of the regular season, the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers have already clinched home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs while they gear up for a couple more marquee matchups down the stretch.
The top-ranked Badgers (25-1-2 overall, 19-1-2 WCHA) have had a stranglehold on the USCHO polls all year long. The only week they did not hold the top spot was the initial poll of the season. From that point on, they have been the consensus No. 1 team in the country, and have certainly played like it, going 11-1-2 against teams currently ranked in the USCHO top 15. Their only regulation loss came in Columbus at the hands of No. 2 Ohio State back in November. Two more ranked opportunities await, beginning this weekend when they travel to No. 6 Minnesota State before hosting No. 3 Minnesota the following week.
Wisconsin holds a 15-point edge over second-place Minnesota in the WCHA standings. They also end the season at Bemidji State, who carries a 2-18 record in conference play. While the WCHA regular season title isn’t wrapped up yet, it would take a historic collapse from a historically dominant team to fall out of the top spot.
This team has been so good that going 1-0-1 with a shootout win against No. 11 St. Cloud State last weekend felt like a letdown. But that’s what happens when you tear through a league loaded with teams ranked in the top five all year long, anchored by the national leaders in goals (Laila Edwards) and assists (Casey O’Brien), along with four of the top five overall point producers in women’s hockey.
The Badgers are good enough to dominate with average goaltending, but it just so happens Ava McNaughton is anything but average. The sophomore full-time starter ranks second in the NCAA in goals against average and save percentage, giving the offense the freedom each week to attack and trust their backstop.
McNaughton is aided on the back end by the world-class play of junior Caroline Harvey, who is a shoo-in to win her second-consecutive WCHA Defender of the Year award and has earned WCHA Defender of the Week on five occasions so far this year. Harvey is consistently elite on both ends of the ice, capable of breaking up plays in the defensive zone before leading the rush and often finishing plays in the offensive zone. She ranks fifth nationally in points with 32 assists and 14 goals on the campaign.
Everywhere you look Wisconsin is loaded with elite players, but the unquestioned leader remains fifth-year senior Casey O’Brien. The forward, who in my opinion was snubbed by the Patty Kazmaier Award voters last year, is making another strong case as the best player in women’s hockey. O’Brien leads the NCAA in points and assists while accounting for more than two points per game. She moved into first place among the Badger record books for career assists earlier this season, and with six regular season games and the postseason remaining will be able pad that record even further.
It’s no coincidence that Laila Edwards is leading the country in goals by playing on a line with O’Brien, who possesses elite vision and playmaking ability. The true sign of a great player is elevating those around you to greatness, and everyone who shares the ice with O’Brien is feasting right now.
This weekend, the Badgers will look to continue feasting against No. 6 Minnesota Duluth (15-9-2 overall, 10-8-2 WCHA). The Bulldogs come into this weekend wounded, losers of four straight, including two losses to St. Thomas last week. This series sets up a dangerous set of trap games for Wisconsin, who can’t get caught looking ahead to next weekend’s Border Battle against No. 3 Minnesota when their opponent is backed into a corner and desperate for a win. As the top-ranked team all season, the Badgers are sure to get everyone’s best shot with the bright red target on their backs.
If things shake out just right over the next two weeks, the Badgers would walk into an off weekend after the Minnesota series having clinched the WCHA regular season and earning some rest before the season finale against last-place Bemidji State, giving them a chance to enter the postseason with the batteries fully charged in their pursuit of the ultimate prize: raising the NCAA Championship trophy on March 23 in Minneapolis.
Game Info
Game 1
Date: Friday, January 31
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Duluth, MN | AMSOIL Arena
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1070 AM The Game
Game 2
Date: Saturday, February 1
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Place: Duluth, MN | AMSOIL Arena
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1070 AM The Game