After missing out on the NCAA tournament just one season ago, the Wisconsin Badgers are not only returning to the tournament, but will get to play at home in the first round as well.
Wisconsin (21-5-2 WCHA, 27-7-2 overall), which earned the No. 4 seed overall, will welcome Harvard (16-3-3 ECAC, 23-6-4) to LaBahn Arena in Madison for their quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Badgers head into the tournament after dropping four of their last eight contests, during which their offense has struggled at times to find the back of the net.
UW was shut out in two of their last three games, despite outshooting their opponents by a 122-67 margin over that span.
“[The scoring deficiency] is not from the lack of getting shots,” said head coach Mark Johnson. “The one thing that’s sort of been strange the last two games is there’s hardly been a power play on either side.”
The Badgers had just one power play opportunity over the past two games, coming against Minnesota State with just 10 seconds remaining in the game. This has created problems for a UW team that scored 29 of its 109 goals on the power play this season.
Special teams have been a strong point for Wisconsin this season, ranking third in the country with a power-play percentage of 23.97. They also boast the NCAA’s second best penalty-killing unit, having successfully killed off 86 of their 93 penalties this season.
But if the recent trend of conservative officiating continues, UW will need to find a way to generate more even-strength offensive opportunities if it wants to avoid being eliminated by the Crimson.
“You have to try and create a few more things five-on-five by creating more pucks to the net traffic, and deflections,” Johnson said. “If we’re able to get 40 or 45 shots, you think the law of averages is that we might get one or two.”
This could prove to be a difficult task for the Badgers. They will go up against a Harvard defense that allows just 1.58 goals per game, the sixth-lowest mark in the NCAA. Wisconsin’s defense has been excellent as well, giving up the third fewest goals per game nationally (1.14).
However, despite their struggles to score in recent weeks, the Badgers will try to focus on getting a fresh start on offense against Harvard and forget about the past.
“The worst thing we can do is start gripping our sticks tight and stop shooting the puck,” said senior forward Madison Packer. “We just have to keep peppering the goaltender, keep shooting the puck.”
It will be an emotional night for the UW seniors, including Packer and goaltender Alex Rigsby, as this will be their final game at LaBahn Arena, win or lose.
“It’s going to be an awesome game, it’s going to be competitive and I think the fans are going to come and see a great game between two really good teams,” Rigsby said. “But it is sad that it will be my last game at home.”
Rigsby has the chance to collect her 100th career win in her final home game as a Badger, which would make her just the third goaltender in NCAA history to reach the 100-win mark.
Wisconsin and Harvard have met twice before in the postseason, with UW winning both times, including a 2007 quarterfinal matchup in Madison that ended up being the second longest game in NCAA women’s hockey history. In the game, the Badgers emerged victorious in the fourth overtime, winning 1-0 en route to a national championship.
Considering the success of both teams’ defenses this season, it could be another low-scoring affair when the two teams square off Saturday.
“If you get into a situation where not many penalties are called, there’s challenges in scoring,” Johnson said. “If a team can score early and get that first one, it usually creates some energy for them.”
