Women’s Hockey Series of the Week- Wisconsin vs. St. Cloud State

We have a highly competitive WCHA matchup this weekend.

No. 1 Wisconsin will welcome St. Cloud State in a last-place vs. first-place series.

The Badgers are coming into this one atop the WCHA and the No. 1 team in the country. They have an 11-1 overall record with a strong 7-1 conference record.

Wisconsin sits at 21 points on the season, only one point in front of Ohio State. The Buckeyes sit in second place in the WCHA.

The red and white’s only loss was a 5-1 defeat to then No. 3 Minnesota back on October 31. The Golden Gophers now rank No. 2 in the country, and the Badgers ended up splitting the series the next day.

Coming off a 7-2 beatdown vs. Minnesota, the Badgers will be searching to continue their hot goal scoring vs. a lowly St. Cloud State team. They haven’t played a game since November 1.

Wisconsin is led by a bunch of highly talented forwards. Caroline Harvey is one of them.

Harvey leads the team with 20 points; she has also contributed to six goals on the season. The AHCA 2024 first-team All-American leads the team in assists entering mid-November. That’s also good for second in the WCHA, only behind Minnesota’s Ava Lindsay.

Cassie Hall and Kelly Gorbatenko lead the way goal scoring-wise, with Hall leading the team with 11. Each of these players are top ten in the conference in goals scored.

The goaltending for the Badgers has also been stellar in 2025.

Junior netminder Ava McNaughton has posted an impressive .945 save percentage. She leads the WCHA in save percentage and allows the least amount of goals in the conference (1.14).

With talent in all positions of the ice for Wisconsin, the Huskies are going to have their work cut out for them.

Heading over to St. Cloud State, they have struggled out of the gates in 2025.

The Huskies sit dead last in the conference, mustering only three points through twelve games played.

They sit at 4-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play. The Huskies are entering this one with five losses in a row, including an overtime loss back on October 18 vs. St. Thomas.

St. Cloud State is in the midst of a brutal stretch of opponents, having to face No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in its past two series.

The road certainly doesn’t get easier for this unit, as they get set to face the most potent offense in the conference. The Badgers lead the WCHA in goals per game (5.33)

The Huskies have yet to have a player earn double-digit points, but they are led by junior forward Sofianna Sundelin.

She leads the team with six goals and is tied for first on the team in points alongside defender Grace Wolfe. Wolfe leads the Huskies in assists with nine.

St. Cloud State uses all three of its goalies this season, but Jojo Chobak has had the most starts in between the pipes.

She has 217 saves on the year but holds a modest .893 save percentage.

With Wisconsin firing on all cylinders and St. Cloud State searching for answers, this weekend’s matchup looks like another major test for the Huskies.

The Badgers will look to keep their momentum rolling and further cement their spot atop the WCHA standings this weekend.

Ben Barker is a third-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bsb5566@psu.edu.