DEFENSE THE KEY IN HOCKEY SHOWDOWNS WITH MICHIGAN, WISCONSIN
Aubrey Nelson on January 11, 2019 at 3:45 pm @deadlynuts
WOMEN VS NO. 1 WISCONSIN
GAME INFO FRIDAY SATURDAY
Opening Faceoff 6pm ET 3pm ET
Online Stream BTN Plus ($) BTN Plus ($)
The Buckeye women get back to their regular season schedule this week following an exhibition series against the Minnesota Whitecaps. Although Ohio State dropped both games, competing against the pros was a valuable experience.
TEAM STATS WISCONSIN OHIO STATE
Records 19-1-0, 9-1-0-0 WCHA 14-6-0, 8-4-0-0 WCHA
National Polls No. 1 / No. 1 No. 8 / No. 8
Avg. Goals For / Against 4.05 / 1.15 2.90 / 2.00
Power Play / Penalty Kill 29.5% / 86.3% 12.8% / 90.0%
Points Leader Abby Roque (25) Emma Maltais (28)
Leading Goal Scorer Annie Pankowski (14) Tatum Skaggs (12)
Top Goaltender Kristen Campbell (1.10/.932) Andrea Braendli (1.70/.939)
“We hung with them without three key players, played with four D,” said Nadine Muzerall. “Those players that don’t play a lot of normal minutes in a game, they got some time on ice. They’re starting to build their confidence and can take that into this [next] series.”
WCHA STANDINGS W L T SOW PTS LAST WEEK THIS WEEK
No. 2 Minnesota 9 2 1 0 28 W vs UMD, W vs STC (nc) at MSU
No. 1 Wisconsin 9 1 0 0 27 Bye at OSU
No. 8 Ohio State 8 4 0 0 24 Swept by Whitecaps (ex) vs WIS
RV Minn.-Duluth 4 6 2 2 16 L vs MIN, W vs MSU (nc) at BSU
Bemidji State 4 7 1 0 13 Swept Union (nc) vs UMD
Minnesota State 3 7 2 1 12 T vs STC, L vs UMD (nc) vs MIN
St. Cloud State 2 12 0 0 6 T vs MSU, L vs MIN (nc) Bye
Any boost the Bucks can get will be helpful this week as they take on the top-ranked Badgers. Wisconsin outshot opponents by an average 40-16 margin per game in the first half of the season and outscored its opponents by a collective 81-23. The Badger power play has scored six power play goals in its last seven opportunities.
“You know you’re not going to score a lot of goals on a team like Wisconsin,” said Muzerall. “You have to know that you can’t give up a lot. You have to go zero to one, maybe two, knowing that you’re not going to get more than that. We have to buckle down defensively and take the opportunities that we get offensively.”
Redshirt senior Jincy Dunne said the strategy is simple for the Buckeye defenders. “As a defensive corps, we’ve just got to be a nightmare. Be tough to play against and be all over them,” the blue line leader said. “[And] don’t get intimidated by the fact that they’re Wisconsin because we’re Ohio State.”
Although the Badgers present a challenge, it’s a challenge the Buckeyes have overcome before. Wisconsin only lost three regular season games last year. Two of those three losses came at the hands of the Bucks.
When the teams met in Columbus last February the Scarlet and Gray took both contests. Those were the only regular season WCHA losses Wisconsin suffered last season. It was also the only time the Badgers were swept all year. Wisconsin’s roster benefits from the return of its Olympians in 2018-19. Yet Muzerall thinks her team has something for the Badgers.
“I think our forecheck is something that they haven’t seen yet,” speculated Muzerall. “We’re pretty relentless and fast. We like to move north quickly. I think we’re going to create some turnovers and then we’re going to funnel pucks to the net. Knowing that they have excellent D and great goaltending, we just have to get the pucks on net.
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...k81jUTh_omnVSrrPgKNtYd-_SrlX1i7BWvPbTvJtZnQI8