Penn State advanced to its first ever Frozen Four with a 3-0 win over UConn last Saturday. The Nittany Lions will look to advance to the national championship game when they take on defending champion Wisconsin in the Frozen Four tonight. The Badgers lead the all-time series 3-1, but the series is tied 1-1 at Pegula Ice Arena.
How to Watch
Who: Wisconsin Badgers
When: Friday, March 20
Where: Pegula Ice Arena, State College, PA
Time: 7:30pm
TV: ESPN+
Projected Lineup
Katelyn Roberts-Tessa Janecke-Abby Stonehouse Maddy Christian-Mikah
Keller-Grace Outwater Matilde Fantin-Mya Vaslet-Nicole Hall Taylor Lum-McKenna Walsh-Shelby Shane
Sophie Morrow-Leah Stecker
Grace Tullock-Kendall Butze
Taya MacDonald-Danica Maynard
Katie DeSa
Maddy Campbell
Opponent Preview
Wisconsin is a wagon in this sport, having won eight national championships since 2006, including three of the last five. The Badgers are making their fourth straight appearance in the Frozen Four and enter this game with a record of 33-4-2.
Three of the top 10 point scorers in the NCAA are on Wisconsin’s roster. Lacey Eden (29 goals, 46 assists) leads the NCAA in assists and points (75). Senior defenseman Caroline Harvey (18 goals, 44 assists) is by far the highest-scoring blue liner in the sport and is second in the country in assists behind Eden. To put in perspective how dominant Harvey has been- Penn State has two top 10 scoring defensemen in Danica Maynard (33) and Kendall Butze (32), but combined they have just three more points than Harvey. Kirsten Simms (25 goals, 31 assists) is inside the top 10 nationally in goals, assists, and points. As a team, Wisconsin averages 5.28 goals per game, nearly one goal higher than the next-highest team. This is without doubt the most dominant offensive team Penn State has faced this season.
The goaltending matchup in this one is intriguing. Wisconsin’s Ava McNaughton and Penn State’s Katie DeSa have been statistically the two best goalies this season. They are tied for the NCAA lead in GAA (1.27), and McNaughton’s save percentage (.941) is slightly ahead of DeSa’s (.939). Combined, these two goalies have 20 shutouts this season.
Wisconsin has the No. 1 power play in the NCAA (34.71%) and the No. 1 penalty kill (90.29%). The Nittany Lions will be best served keeping the game at 5-on-5 for as long as possible.
Prediction
This has been a breakthrough season for a Penn State program that has been on the rise for several seasons under Jeff Kampersal. If the Nittany Lions can score the first goal and force Wisconsin to play from behind, they have a shot. Penn State is fourth nationally in scoring and has four Olympians on the roster; there is certainly enough offensive talent on this team to give Wisconsin a game. But much like with the men’s team a year ago, I think unfortunately they run out of gas against a more dominant and more talented team.
Wisconsin 4, Penn State 2
