The growth of sophomore class among the top storylines for Wisconsin women's hockey

MADISON - The 25th season of Wisconsin women's hockey begins with Thursday and Friday with a non-conference series at Lindenwood. Here are five storylines to watch for this season.

The WCHA will be rugged as usual

Wisconsin starts the year ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls, but the Badgers' league rivals aren’t far behind. UW is followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth, No. 13 St. Cloud State in both polls. Remember, the Badgers finished third in the conference last season and didn't reach the final of the conference tournament but went on to win its seventh national title.

Kirsten Simms, Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey lead stacked sophomore class

The maturity of a talented freshman class proved pivotal to the Badgers' postseason run last year. With another year under their belt and some elevated roles on the team, this group’s continue maturation will be important for a team that is still on the younger side. Thirteen of the 23 players on the roster have freshman or sophomore eligibility.

Jane Gervais' experience gives her early edge at goaltender

The Badgers will have a new goaltender this season but are in much better shape than at this point last season when they had no player at the position with significant experience. The front-runner in that regard this year is redshirt junior Jane Gervais, who split time with Frozen Four most outstanding player Cami Kronish before she was sidelined due to injury. Her toughest competition could be Ava McNaugton, a freshman who represented the United States at the U-18 World Championship sin 2022.

Chayla Edwards, Anna Wilgren should bolster blueline

Defenders Nicole La Mantia and Natalie Buchbinder, both part of the national team program, completed their eligibility. Edwards was set to go down that path before deciding to use the extra year of eligibility the NCAA ha allowed due to the pandemic to return to UW. Her return plus the addition of Wilgren, a transfer from Minnesota State, gives the Badgers veterans on defense it wouldn’t have otherwise had.

Mark Johnson closing in on milestone win

There is very little UW coach Mark Johnson hadn’t accomplished in the sport. The seven-time national championship coach is also the sport's all-time wins leader. Assuming UW doesn’t stumble early, he’ll have a chance for win No. 600 on Oct. 13 at home against Minnesota State. Only eight other coaches, all from the men’s game, reached that mark.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin women's hockey 2023-24 storylines to watch