Game Coverage
Saturday, March 3 | 2 pm — Ridder Arena
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team opens postseason play this weekend as the Badgers head to the Twin Cities for the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena. UW opens the four-team tournament with a semifinal showdown with Bemidji State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The winner of UW/BSU takes on the winner of Minnesota/Ohio State on Sunday in the WCHA title game at 2 p.m. That game can be seen on Fox Sports North and Fox Sports Wisconsin.
Fans can listen to the games this weekend on 100.9 FM and can follow the action on Twitter (
@BadgerWHockey).
1. LOOKING TO MAKE HISTORY: Wisconsin has been stellar in WCHA postseason play as of late, as the Badgers eye their fourth-straight WCHA tournament title. With a tournament title this year, UW would become the first school in conference history to win four-straight tournaments and it would mark UW's eighth WCHA Final Faceoff crown.
2. WHAT A RUN: The Badgers have won their last 12 WCHA tournament games, a streak that dates back to the 2014-15 season. During the run the Badgers have outscored their opponents 52-5 and have seven shutouts during the streak.
3. AWARDS ON AWARDS: Two Badgers took home
WCHA individual honors on Wednesday as
Abby Roque was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Year while
Kristen Campbell was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Year and the WCHA Goaltending Champion. Roque and Campbell were also named All-WCHA First Team selections last week.
Claudia Kepler,
Sophia Shaver and
Mikaela Gardner collected All-WCHA Second Team honors while
Maddie Rolfes picked up All-WCHA Third Team accolades.
Campbell was also named a
Patty Kazmaier Top-10 Finalist last week after leading NCAA Division I netminders in goals-against average, save percentage, winning percentage and shutouts.
4. BALANCING ACT: Wisconsin has been the beneficiary of a balanced attack this year as Seven different Badgers have reached the 20-point milestone this year.
Abby Roque,
Presley Norby,
Sophia Shaver,
Sam Cogan,
Claudia Kepler,
Mikaela Gardner and
Alexis Mauermann have all reach the 20-point mark this year.
In addition, seven different Badgers have at least nine or more goals this year, led by senior
Claudia Kepler's 20 tallies this year.
5. SELECTION SUNDAY: Following the WCHA Final Faceoff, the Badgers will find out their NCAA tournament fate as the NCAA Selection Show will take place on Sunday at 8 p.m. on NCAA.com. UW currently holds down the No. 1 ranking in the USCHO.com Pairwise Rankings, a system that mimics the method used by the NCAA for selecting the programs for the eight-team tournament.
Bonus: Wisconsin fans that are coming up to the WCHA Final Faceoff are encouraged to attend UW's fan event at Sally's Saloon (700 SE Washington Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55414). The event will start from 12-1:30 p.m. each day the Badgers are in action and there will be free giveaways and a guest appearance by the band and Bucky Badger.
