The top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team returns home for banner night following a season-opening sweep at St. Lawrence. The Badgers’ opponent for the home opener is the Boston University Terriers, playing their season opener after an exhibition against Long Island University was canceled earlier in the week.
Wisconsin (2-0) is unbeaten against Boston University in the all-time series with six wins, the last game coming at a neutral site back in 2017. This will be the Terriers’ first trip to LaBahn since a loss to Wisconsin in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
The series serves as the final tune-up for the Badgers before heading to Columbus for WCHA action against No. 2 Ohio State. One of the main questions this weekend will be the status of junior goaltender Ava McNaughton, who left last week’s opener midway through the game after tweaking something in her lower body while making a save.
McNaughton reportedly lobbied the coaching staff to play the second game of the St. Lawrence series and was listed as a full participant in practice this week. All signs point to her being available on Thursday, though I wonder about the possibility of Mark Johnson deciding on sharing some minutes with sophomore goalie Rhyah Stewart as a precaution. Stewart performed admirably in McNaughton’s absence over the weekend, shutting out St. Lawrence in nearly 93 minutes of ice time.
Senior Kelly Gorbatenko looks to continue her fast start after scoring a pair of goals in each of the first two games. Senior Cassie Hall and sophomore Charlotte Pieckenhagen each enter the series with three assists while the Wisconsin offense looks like it’s starting to gel early.
The youth movement is already making an impact early; freshman Rosalie Tremblay assisted on the first goal of the season before chipping in with a power play goal shortly after. She is looking like she’s not shy about joining the rush and putting the puck on net. We also saw our first freshman-to-freshman goal when Madelyn Kimbrel recorded her first assist on Haley Box’s first goal.
I expect everyone to continue getting involved against Boston University, a team that went 11-21-3 last year, including 1-10-2 against ranked teams. Their leading producer, returning from last season, netted a total of 12 points. They did, however, add some exciting reinforcements on the offensive and defensive ends in Quinn Taylor and Kali Maetchel. Taylor (United States) and Maetchel (Canada) each have significant U-18 National Team experience and will look to lead a charging group of newcomers.
Boston University also faces a tall task against the opening night energy in LaBahn Arena as Wisconsin raises its ninth championship banner before Thursday’s game. Madison is already a tough enough place for opponents to visit with arguably the best home ice advantage in the country, but banner night presents an extra degree of difficulty.
The puck drops on the home opener at 7 p.m. on Thursday, while Friday’s game gets going at 5:00 p.m. Both contests are set to air on Big Ten Plus.
Game Info
Game 1
Date: Thursday, October 1
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, Wis. | LaBahn Arena
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1070 AM
Game 2
Date: Friday, October 2
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, Wis. | LaBahn Arena
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1070 AM
