It happened again. For the second time this year, the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers are not the unanimous top-ranked team following a weekend that saw them beat No. 10 St. Cloud State, 5-1, before tying them in game two on the road. The Badgers eventually won the shootout after failing to hold off the Huskies in the third period, ending the game in a 4-4 draw.
No. 2 Minnesota and No. 3 Ohio State are now receiving two first-place votes apiece after beating up on unranked competition, while both boast worse
records than Wisconsin. Regardless, the draw with St. Cloud State was enough to let slip their unanimous stranglehold on the top spot.
If the draw feels a bit like a loss, that’s because Wisconsin (12-1-1, 8-1-1 WCHA) let one slip away. Not only did they concede a power play goal with less than four minutes remaining, allowing St. Cloud State (4-9-1, 1-8-1 WCHA) to pull even, but they also had a chance to put the game away in the third when the Huskies were called for a five-minute major. Rather than stretch the lead to two (or more), the Badgers instead took an interference penalty seconds into the woman’s advantage and allowed a goal to erase their lead.
Last weekend’s results pulled Wisconsin into a tie with Ohio State atop the WCHA standings; however, with three months of regular season left to play, along with four games against the Buckeyes still on the schedule, there is plenty of story left to write.
Speaking of writing stories, senior forward Kirsten Simms added a cool accolade to her memoir when she became the eighth Badger to eclipse 200 career points. The five-point weekend earned Simms WCHA Forward of the Week recognition.
The Badgers will look to get back on track with a little home cooking when they host the No. 15 St. Thomas Tommies (8-8, 3-7 WCHA) in a Thursday-Friday series at LaBahn Arena.
That number next to their name is a new addition this year, as St. Thomas earned a ranking for the first time since jumping to Division I back in 2021-22 earlier this fall. Making the leap to the WCHA from Division III hockey was always going to involve a learning curve, but Bethany Brausen has the Tommies playing some solid hockey in her first full season leading the program.
St. Thomas split overtime games with St. Cloud State earlier this season, and also took Ohio State to overtime. They dropped both games to Minnesota Duluth last weekend and are riding a three-game losing streak into Madison. Wisconsin is 17-0 against St. Thomas since they joined the WCHA, but this Tommie team is feistier than the Badgers are used to seeing.
Forwards Rylee Bartz and Ella Boerger are both averaging over a point per game. Graduate school goaltender Julia Minotta, a native of Laval, Quebec, Canada, and a transfer from Clarkson University, is allowing just 2.33 goals per game in net, far better than the Tommies have ever seen at the Division I level.
We’ve seen what happens when Wisconsin stumbles, evidenced by the throttling they delivered to Minnesota following the only loss of the season, and it’s a safe bet that the Badgers bounce back against St. Thomas. St. Cloud State has a habit of forcing overtime with the Badgers, but the Tommies have yet to really test Wisconsin. That being said, they’ve also had a flawed roster incapable of skating with most of the WCHA for the past four years. This is a different St. Thomas squad, one that is hungry to make program history.
The Tommies still have a ways to go, and this weekend will be an uphill battle, but St. Thomas should absolutely be commended for building a team that can compete with the toughest conference in women’s hockey. It’s fun watching what’s happening in St. Paul, but we’ll all be happier to watch them get back on track after a couple more losses this weekend.
Game Info
Date: November 20-21
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, WI | LaBahn Arena
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1070 AM
