The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team is gearing up for its final series of the regular season with the matchup offering an opportunity for the Buckeyes to claim a share of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team is gearing up for its final series of the regular season with the matchup offering an opportunity for the Buckeyes to claim a share of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title.
No. 6 Wisconsin awaits the Buckeyes after previously meeting on home ice earlier this year, where Ohio State (27-3-2, 22-3-1 WCHA) clinched a 2-1 victory on the first night and locked in with a 5-0 shutout on the second day to complete the series.
Despite the two-consecutive wins, the Buckeyes have historically struggled against the Badgers (22-8-2, 18-6-2 WCHA), securing just 20 wins in the 105 all-time matchups.
“Wisconsin is a really good team with a lot of skill,” graduate defenseman Sophie Jaques said. “Making sure to use our speed and drive the net hard, I think, will be a key for success for us this weekend. If we can play our game, I’m sure we will have no issues against them.”
Jaques, who leads the team with 19 goals and 21 assists on the season, said a victory over Wisconsin is important and plays in building the framework for the remainder of the year.
“It will set up in a great spot for playoffs because we want to be as highly seeded as we can to hopefully host any games we have to play,” Jaques said.
A Buckeye victory also has the potential to make history with the first regular season conference title in program history, and junior forward Jenna Buglioni highlighted the effort in preparation for success.
“We’ve had a good, hard week of practice. Focusing on the Badgers, they’re always really good games,” Buglioni said. “They’re going to be a different team than when we saw them last, about a month ago, and we’re going to be a different team, as well.”
Wisconsin is led by redshirt senior goaltender Cami Kronish with 443 saves this season and junior forward Casey O’Brien with 15 goals on the season.
Although Ohio State more than doubles the Badgers’ power play conversion rate of 14.1 percent, Wisconsin directly contends with the Buckeyes’ goals per game average, matching it at 4.3.
“They’re a team with a lot of talent and they got a lot of depth,” Buglioni said. “We’re going to have to keep coming after them shift after shift with lots of momentum. We need to play tough and physical.”
The series this weekend will begin on Saturday at 4 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 3 p.m. Both games will be streamed on BTN+.
