The No. 2 Buckeyes will take on the No. 1 Badgers in a rematch of last season’s national championship. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Lantern File
No. 1 versus No. 2.
A rematch of last season’s national championship game.
Eight out of the top nine scorers in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association on the ice at the same time.
However it can be put, No. 2 Ohio State women’s ice hockey (9-1-0, 8-0-0 WCHA) welcomes No. 1 Wisconsin (12-0-0, 8-0-0 WCHA) to the Ohio State Ice Rink Friday and Saturday in a tilt between the two best in the country.
“Our motto this year has been to take [the national championship] back,” Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall said. “We’re really excited with the talent we have and it’s always fun in our league because you usually have two or three teams in the top four.”
Amongst a host of skaters leaving for the Professional Women’s Hockey League and new transfers in graduate forward Hannah Bilka and graduate defensemen Cayla Barnes coming in, those within the program like graduate forward Jenn Gardiner and senior goaltender Raygan Kirk still have a bad taste in their mouths after the national championship loss 243 days ago.
“Last time we played them, it was obviously a game we don’t want to think about,” Gardiner said. “But, I think keeping that in mind just adds a little bit more fuel to our fire, and for us returners, we definitely have a vendetta out against them.”
Setting the standard for offensive production, Wisconsin leads the WCHA in total goals with 83, and behind the Badgers is Ohio State with 49.
“Defense is definitely going to be huge this weekend,” Kirk said. “With how offensively talented they are, we’ve been working the past few weeks on our communication between the goalies and the defensemen.”
Wisconsin claims the top four WCHA scorers, led by sophomore forward Kirstin Simms’s 20 points, while the next two are Bilka and Gardiner with 14 apiece.
“Top to bottom they have a really strong team, but so do we,” Gardiner said. “We’re not ready to back down. They know we have a lot of offensive power and I think our offense is ready to be creative and take it to them in their zone.”
Following a 1-for-6 power-play performance against Minnesota on Nov. 4, Muzerall said special teams was a big emphasis during the off-week in order to prepare for Wisconsin, who scores at a 44.19-percent clip on power-play opportunities, good for best in the conference.
“I think five-on-five we are the best team in the country,” Muzerall said. “Against Minnesota, though, special teams really hurt us. So, we focused on that and our conditioning and tightening up some things defensively because we know we are going to see some offensive power this weekend.”
Although not involved in last season’s national championship loss, Muzerall said the younger players on the roster know the implications of this weekend’s series.
“They know,” Muzerall said. “You don’t have to rub them up too much because they already know what’s on the line.”
Returning to the ice after a successful season playing field hockey, senior forward Makenna Webster will add another dimension to a Buckeye offense that ranks second in goals-per-game with 4.9.
Over seven months after the national championship loss and 10 games into the season, Muzerall said Ohio State is ready to go against its biggest opponent to date this year.
“Our team is like a caged wolf,” Muzerall said. “When they’ve been locked up and not playing for a while, they come out. They know what’s at stake and they have to come out quickly.”
After witnessing the rivalry from afar and now fully entrenched in it, Bilka said she is ready for this weekend’s challenge.
“The message is that this is the biggest weekend up to this point,” Bilka said. “There is a chance to take number one, so I think it’s really exciting and going to be very competitive.”
Puck drop is set for 6 p.m., Friday, and 3 p.m. Saturday.
