To win a national championship this year, the Wisconsin women's hockey team knew it would have to beat Minnesota-Duluth. When the NCAA tournament kicks off for the Badgers this weekend, they will have to do just that, albeit a week earlier than they thought they would.
Much of the women's hockey world expected to see the teams meet some time at the Frozen Four March 18-20. Instead, two of the sport's most storied programs will play in Madison this weekend, facing off at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Kohl Center in an NCAA quarterfinal matchup.
When the puck drops, both teams will know they are three wins away from earning a national title. They will also know they are one loss away from ending their season far earlier than they would have liked as they enter the truly ""win or go home"" part of their schedules.
""It comes down to who has enough in the tank and who's going to give themselves the best opportunity to win three games,"" Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson said.
The Badgers and Bulldogs already have a bitter rivalry that includes a number of postseason meetings, the winner of which has often gone on to claim the NCAA title. As they prepare to face one another again this weekend, Johnson said the rivalry will be as intense and UMD as hard to beat as ever.
""Both teams will be hungry —both teams want to go on to the Frozen Four,"" he said. ""They're the defending national champions, they've got a lot of kids that have been through this process before.""
Saturday's matchup was the result of a controversial decision from the NCAA selection committee, which paired No. 1 seed Wisconsin with defending national champion Duluth. After the tournament's bracket was announced Sunday, Johnson said it showed a ""lack of respect for what we did this year.""
But while the Badgers were surprised to see they would play the Bulldogs so soon, being able to do so in Madison – not on neutral ice at the Frozen Four – will certainly be an advantage.
""If we're going to play them, there's no better place to play them than here at the Kohl Center,"" junior forward Carolyne Prevost said.
Prevost, along with her senior linemates Kelly Nash and Mallory Deluce, have come up big for Wisconsin so far this postseason.
The Badgers' third line totaled six points in Wisconsin's 3-0 victory over North Dakota in the WCHA Final Face-off semifinals. The next night, Nash scored a game-winning goal in overtime of the finals to give the Badgers the WCHA playoff title.
""We played well for the past little while; we just haven't had the bounces we've been getting lately. Now we're playing with confidence,"" Prevost said. ""When you play with confidence it's going to help you along the way, and that's what's going on right now.""
Senior forward and team captain Meghan Duggan said that confidence has helped the line find another gear in the postseason. As some of Wisconsin's bigger names racked up points and attention this season, Duggan said the third line has quietly gone about adding depth to the team's scoring attack.
