Fresh off their first two losses of the season, the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers return home looking for a couple of bounce back wins against Minnesota State for the first WCHA series played at LaBahn Arena on Friday and Saturday.
Wisconsin (4-2, 0-2 WCHA) got their first taste of reality in Columbus last weekend, dropping two tightly contested games against No. 1 Ohio State. Back-to-back losses will ensure Mark Johnson’s squad is hungry to get back on the winning side, and the Mavericks just happen to be
standing in the way.
Despite the losses to the Buckeyes, senior Cassie Hall scored in both games and currently leads the NCAA in goals with seven. This is not a new development, Hall emerged as a big-time goal scorer last season and looks to have taken another step in the right direction this year.
Senior goaltender Ava McNaughton is now in her fourth year as a starter, her third as the full-time starter, and is playing as well as ever. While she was credited with losses in each game last weekend, McNaughton showed tremendous poise against the Buckeye onslaught and kept the Badgers in each game. No disrespect to Minnesota State, but this weekend will be a notable step down in competition for McNaughton.
Minnesota State (2-2, 0-2 WCHA) is coming off a sweep suffered at the hands of St. Cloud State and hitting the road for the first time this season, making the trip to Madison to take on a hungry pack of Badgers.
Maverick goaltender Hailey Hansen has never beaten Wisconsin, though she’s performed quite admirably against the Badgers. She has held Wisconsin under their scoring average three times in five starts, including a 50-save effort last January in a 3-1 loss. Considering the low shot totals for the Badgers against Ohio State, Hansen is likely to get peppered by pucks on net all weekend.
The Badgers are on a 25-game winning streak against Minnesota State, last losing to the Mavericks on February 8, 2020. If Wisconsin wants to wash the taste of an 0-2 WCHA start out of their mouths, they’ll need to extend that winning streak to 27 games.
Game Info
Game 1
Date: Friday, October 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, Wis. | LaBahn Arena
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1070 AM
Game 2
Date: Saturday, October 16
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, Wis. | LaBahn Arena
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1070 AM
