No. 1 Wisconsin (26-1-1) travels to No. 6 Ohio State (17-7-4) this weekend in a matchup featuring two of the top teams in the country. The last time these two teams faced off was in early November, and the Badgers swept that series in convincing fashion, outscoring the Buckeyes 10-1 over the two games. Since that series, UW has continued to put up win after win, while OSU has basically been treading water, posting a 10-5-1 record. Two of those five losses came last weekend against unranked Minnesota Duluth, while the Badgers are coming off a weekend series sweep of St. Cloud State.
Arguably, Ohio State’s biggest problem the last time the teams faced off was penalties, as it saw nine players sit in the penalty box over the two games. It will look to clean up those mistakes this weekend in the hopes of its offense having more chances to attack the Badger defense and goaltender Kristen Campbell.
Wisconsin will try to push its unbeaten streak further this weekend by continuing to stay aggressive on offense, while still playing its usual lockdown defense. Maddie Rowe will look to build on her fantastic series last weekend against St. Cloud State, when she scored three times and notched an assist over the two games. Campbell also figures to have a big series this weekend as the Buckeyes’ offense has picked up the pace over the last month of play. With two wins this weekend, Wisconsin could essentially lock up the WCHA regular season title for the fifth time since 2010.
Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the OSU Ice Rink.
