The last two weeks would have been a daunting schedule for Wisconsin with a full roster, let alone after losing five players to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Even so, the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers
remain atop the WCHA after four games against No. 3 Minnesota and No. 2 Ohio State, earning a split with both to control their destiny with four games remaining in the regular season.
Much like the series against the Gophers, Wisconsin (25-3-2, 19-3-2 WCHA) dropped its opener to the Buckeyes before a resounding win in the second game. Much like Wisconsin, Ohio State is missing five Olympians, although the Badgers have much more to replace with their Olympic absences.
The Buckeyes are down five skaters to Wisconsin’s four, but the Badgers need to replace 164 total points of offense compared to Ohio State’s 141 points. Wisconsin is also without Ava McNaughton, the reigning Goaltender of the Year in women’s collegiate hockey. More on that in just a moment.
I mentioned before the Minnesota series that Wisconsin would view a split in their next two series as a win, surviving the toughest part of their schedule without five of their best players to remain in first place. They stole a point from the Gophers when they lost in overtime, and they now hold a two-point lead over the Buckeyes, who host Minnesota this weekend. If Wisconsin holds serve against Minnesota State and St. Cloud State, the WCHA regular-season crown will return to Madison.
Back to the goaltending, freshman Rhyah Stewart has filled in admirably for McNaughton, especially considering the pressure cooker she was thrown into with four games against the best teams in the NCAA. Stewart has surrendered just 2.25 goals per game since being thrust into action against the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the country and has made nearly 26 saves per game for a .920 save percentage.
Stewart can’t afford to take her foot off the gas, but life should get a little less chaotic in the crease when Wisconsin heads to Minnesota State (13-15-2, 7-15-2 WCHA). The Badgers beat the Mavericks twice in their earlier meetings and recorded shutouts in both games, admittedly with a much different Wisconsin team on the ice.
Fifth-year senior Lacey Eden is doing her part to ensure nobody misses the Olympians, continuing the tear she’s been on dating back to mid-November. An Olympic snub herself, Eden’s posted at least one point in 15 of her last 16 games, only being kept off the scoresheet in the loss to Ohio State. All she did was bounce back with a three-point performance in a win the next day to earn WCHA Forward of the Week, after teammate Cassie Hall claimed the honor the week prior.
With Caroline Harvey leading Team USA in Italy, Eden has now overtaken her to lead Wisconsin in points and sits only two assists behind Harvey. She also tied Kirsten Simms, also representing Team USA, for the team lead in goals. Eden has done nothing but produce offense since coming to Madison, and she is now poised to possibly lead the Badgers in points, goals, and assists when the 2025-26 season comes to a close. It would be a small consolation prize for being left off the Olympic roster, but Eden is deserving of any accolade that comes her way.
Eden’s goal against the Buckeyes on Sunday puts her at 97 career goals, just three away from joining Hilary Knight, Brianna Decker, and Meghan Duggan as the only Badgers with 100 career goals (though the UW Athletics website already credits her with 100 career goals on their statistics page). She already crossed the 100-assist mark earlier this season and will go down as one of the most prolific forwards in Badger history.
The new top line of Eden, Cassie Hall, and Kelly Gorbatenko is more than capable of overwhelming Minnesota State, just ask the Gophers and Buckeyes what happened when they woke up. Even more encouraging has been the play of senior defender Vivian Jungels stepping up over the last few weeks.
Jungels was named WCHA Defender of the Week after the Minnesota series, posting two goals and three points in the Gopher win and adding an assist in the win over Ohio State. She’s also not afraid to put her body on the line, leading the Badgers with 45 blocked shots this season.
If Wisconsin plans to win another WCHA title, it will be up to the players mentioned over the last two paragraphs to get them across the finish line. The road is simple: win the next four games, and maybe [painfully] root for Minnesota to beat Ohio State to provide some breathing room. Reinforcements are coming for the playoffs, but this current crop of Badgers has already shown they have what it takes to keep the ship running in the meantime. All we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.
Game Info
Date: February 13-14
Time: Friday – 3:00 p.m. | Saturday – 2:00 p.m.
Place: Mankato, Minn. | Mayo Clinic Event Center
TV: B1G+ | Radio: Friday – U100.9, Saturday – 1070 AM
