The women’s USCHO polls look just like they have for all but one week over the past year, with the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers listed as the unanimous top team in the country following back-to-back shutouts
over the Minnesota State Mavericks. Wisconsin is a perfect 10-0 this season, with six WCHA wins going into this weekend’s top-five showdown against No. 3 Minnesota.
The Badgers deployed a balanced scoring attack over the weekend with four different goal scorers in the 4-0 win on Saturday, followed by eight individual scorers in the 8-0 victory on Sunday. Wisconsin’s leading scorer, junior Cassie Hall, started the scoring in game one and added another goal in the finale. Joining Hall with goals both Saturday and Sunday were freshman Adéla Šapovalivová, junior Kelly Gorbatenko, and senior Claire Enright.
The other four goals on Sunday came from sophomores Hannah Halverson, Finley McCarthy, and Maggie Scannell, as well as fifth-year senior Lacey Eden.
It was Enright who got the call to move up to the first line as the Badgers navigate the absence of senior Kirsten Simms. Enright responded with a casual five-point weekend, tallying two goals and three assists. It was enough to earn the top line’s latest addition WCHA Forward of the Week honors for the first time.
Junior Ava McNaughton continued her excellent play between the pipes, notching her NCAA-leading fifth shutout in game one. The shots were limited on Saturday, though McNaughton faced a larger flurry on Sunday before ceding the crease to freshman Rhyah Stewart, who made six third-period saves in her second appearance of the season. Badger fans should get used to seeing Stewart, as she may see extended minutes with the upcoming Team USA schedule that could see multiple high-profile players missing time.
All-in-all, it was the seventh team shutout for Wisconsin. McNaughton does not get credit for two of them as Stewart finished the games in net. Sunday’s win marks the third consecutive season the Badgers have started with ten straight wins. It also pushes the overall winning streak to 23 games dating back to last year, continuing a program record for Wisconsin.
While it doesn’t seem likely that Laila Edwards or Kirsten Simms will suit up for the upcoming Minnesota series, Wisconsin has demonstrated that they have the depth to compete without two of its biggest stars. Which is good, because they’ll have their hands full with the NCAA’s leading goal scorer, Abbey Murphy, and the high-powered Minnesota offense coming to Madison this weekend.
