While the media goes on and on about how the Wisconsin football and men's hockey teams have disappointed their fans by going winless in conference play when they were destined to be conference champions, their female hockey counterparts have been flying under the radar while winning every game so far this year. The Lady Badgers haven't just won all eight games they've played - they've outscored their opponents 52-7.
The 2008 national runner-ups are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, capturing all first-place votes in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and the USCHO.com polls. They also share the top spot in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) standings with No. 2 Minnesota. Both teams are 4-0-0 in conference play with eight points each heading into this weekend's doubleheader at the Kohl Center, the first home conference series for the Lady Badgers.
Wisconsin started out their season with a doubleheader vs. Quinnipiac (CT), beating them 10-0 and 7-3, respectively, on Sept. 26 and 27. After shutout wins against Syracuse the next weekend, they had their first WCHA matches at Ohio State, beating them 7-4 and 4-0 on Oct. 10 and 11. The doubleheader between the Badgers and the Buckeyes was Ohio State's home and conference opener, and because they lost, Ohio State is currently at the bottom of the Women's WCHA standings, with only two non-conference wins under their belts.
The Lady Badgers' last sweep was at Bemidji State (MN) this past weekend. Although both games were considered conference play, Saturday night's game was the first ever Women's U.S. Hockey Hall-of-Fame game, held in nearby Eveleth, Minn. The Beavers, scoreless against Wisconsin since November of 2006, lost 4-0 and 9-0.
Wisconsin has never been ranked lower than second in either poll since the season started five weeks ago. They were ranked second in the preseason poll and in two consecutive polls after that but were pushed to the top spot in both polls last week when then-third-ranked Minnesota pulled an upset and swept then-top-ranked National Champion Minnesota-Duluth. The Badgers received 17 of 19 first-place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and 14 of 15 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll.
Although head coach Mark Johnson said that Minnesota will be a harder opponent than those in their past eight games, the Lady Badgers won't go down without a fight.
I'm sure you know, when I played and coached against Minnesota, those are weekends that, from a coaching perspective, you don't need to motivate your players that much,"" Johnson said. ""They know the meaning of the game. They get excited whether we're playing here or up in Ridder. And so from that standpoint, you know the kids are going to be ready to play.""
- uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report
