Women’s college hockey series of the week: Minnesota vs Wisconsin

It’s a WCHA vs Big Ten showdown for this week’s edition of the women’s college hockey series of the week. This weekend, the No.1 Wisconsin Badgers look to keep their undefeated season alive at home against the No.4 Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The Wisconsin Badgers are currently the queens of college hockey and one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the country (the other being Penn State). Wisconsin’s biggest sweep this season came against the No.5 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.

Though most of the goals on this Badgers team seem to be well distributed and high in number, one player stands in front of the pack. Junior forward Cassie Hall leads Wisconsin with 10 goals on the season and averages one goal per game.

In the realm of assists, the Badgers do a good job of spreading the wealth. Although they are very close in number, the leader in the assist category is senior forward Kirsten Simms, who has accumulated nine.

Between the pipes, the Badgers have the best. Junior goaltender Ava McNaughton has only allowed six goals and made 178 saves, which is 126 more than the second-best goaltender in the country, Yale’s Anna Phillips. All told, McNaughton has the best save percentage in the country with .967.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers currently hold the No.3 spot in the women’s USCHO poll with a 9-1-0 record. The Gophers’ lone loss came in game one against the No.2 Ohio State Buckeyes. Other than that loss, Minnesota has ranked sweeps over Ferris State, St. Cloud State and Boston University.

On offense, the Gophers have one of the best goal scorers in the nation. Graduate student forward Abbey Murphy has the most goals in the country, with 14, and the second-best goals per game average, at 1.40.

When it comes to assists, Minnesota has three players with over 10. However, their leader is junior forward Ava Lindsay with 15.

In net, the Gophers also have one of the best. Sophomore goaltender Hannah Clark has 192 saves and only ten goals allowed. This gives her the ninth-best save percentage in the nation with .950.

For Wisconsin to protect LaBahn Arena, the recipe needs to stay the same. Leaning on their strong offensive and defensive performances. If these units continue to perform strongly and McNaughton remains stellar, the Badgers will likely win easily.

If Minnesota wants to give Wisconsin its first losses of the season, the offense needs to remain hot, but the defense needs to step up. There are plenty of moments, especially against Minnesota-Duluth, where Minnesota’s defense was caught asleep, which left Clark on an island.

This top-three showdown will be played in Madison, Wisconsin, at the LaBahn Area. If you’re unable to make it, you can find this series on Big Ten Plus.

Max Malec is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mvm7264@psu.edu.