No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Ohio State. What to know about the final women's hockey series of the regular season.
MADISON – When Ohio State and Wisconsin get together, big things happen.
In March last year, the two squared off in the national championship game that ended with the Badgers women’s hockey team winning its seventh title. The year before that the Buckeyes downed UW in the semifinals of the WCHA Final Face Off. In 2021, the Badgers knocked out the Buckeyes in the national semifinals.
Friday and Saturday will mark the third and fourth time this season the programs have faced off as the top two ranked teams in the country.
In November the Buckeyes swept then-No. 1 Wisconsin. This time? We’ll see.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday at La Bahn Arena.
The series for the Badgers completes a month-long run-up that started with No. 7 Minnesota Duluth, then went to No. 10 St. Cloud State and then No. 5 Minnesota last week.
Minnesota and Ohio State are the best teams UW has faced this season.
“If we’re healthy and you’re playing well, those are the games that make you play better,” Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said. “Whether you win them or lose them, you still get better by playing those games. That’s how I look at it.”
Here is what you need to know about the weekend series.
How can I watch or listen to the Wisconsin-Ohio State women's hockey game?
Friday the game will be broadcast on BTN+. Saturday the contest will be shown on the Big Ten Network. Both matchups can be heard on the iHeartRadio app. Tickets for the series are sold out.
What impact will the series have?
The top spots in the WCHA have been wrapped up. Ohio State clinched its second straight conference title last weekend, while UW sealed second place by completing a sweep of Minnesota on Saturday.
Positioning for the NCAA Tournament is far from finalized, though. The Buckeyes and Badgers are ranked 1-2 in the PairWise rankngs with this series and the WCHA playoffs left before tournament selections on Sunday, March 10.
More: Wisconsin statistics
More: Ohio State statistics
How is Wisconsin better since the teams' last meeting?
Ohio State scored a 3-0 victory over UW on Nov. 17, getting all its goals during the first 23 minutes, and won, 2-1, in overtime on Nov. 18. Wisconsin's shot totals of 19 and 22, respectively, are its two lowest this season.
But that was more than three months ago.
The biggest difference for UW, besides having many of its young players become better adjusted to the college game, has been the return of sophomores Kirsten Simms and Caroline Harvey.
Harvey didn’t play in the series due a lower-body injury. Simms suited up for the first game but not the second.
Since then both players have hit their stride. Simms leads the nation with 60 points. Harvey leads all WCHA defenders in points (31) despite missing nine games.
“I think where we are, we’re in a really good spot,” senior Britta Curl said. “We’ve had a lot of different experiences. We’ve gone to a bunch of different places, played all these teams, and I think we’ve really found our stride these last couple of months.
“I think this weekend is a big one. Obviously we want to do well against this team, but we’re not going to hang our season on it. It’s a learning opportunity. We’re going to find out the last few things we need to tweak before playoffs.”
How much will experience matter?
One area Wisconsin can’t match Ohio State is in experience. The Buckeyes have 16 players who are either seniors or graduate students compared to six for Wisconsin.
Among the veterans for Ohio State are both goalies and seven of its top 10 scorers.
In comparison, four of Wisconsin’s top 10 points leaders are seniors or older and its goalies are a junior and freshman.
“The fun part about the game is you don’t know what is going to happen,” Johnson said. “You don’t know what kind of game it’s going to be. Obviously they’re a deep team. They’ve had an outstanding season. They’ve got experience in a lot of spaces on their roster. It will be a good test for us.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey hosts No. 1 Ohio State
