COLUMBUS, Ohio – In the top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team's first top-10 test of the season, its special teams and defense powered the Badgers to a 3-0 win over No. 8 Ohio State on Friday at the OSU Ice Rink.
Abby Roque and
Mekenzie Steffen scored power-play goals for the Badgers (5-0-0, 1-0-0-0 WCHA) while
Daryl Watts added an empty-net goal to extend her goal streak to five games.
After a scoreless first period, the Badgers power play came through as Roque scored her fourth of the year, rifling the puck top shelf off assists from Watts and
Sophie Shirley.
Watts added her own goal with 1:21 left in the third period before Steffen notched her first goal of the year with 42 seconds left in the third.
Kristen Campbell earned her third shutout of the year, stopping all 17 shots she faced to improve to 5-0-0 in net.
Three Notes of the Game
- Wisconsin has scored power-play goals in four of its five games this year. The Badgers have a NCAA-best nine power-play goals on 21 attempts this year.
- Watts leads the country in scoring with 14 points through five games this season.
- Campbell paces NCAA goaltenders with more than one start this year in save percentage (.974), goals-against average (0.43), shutouts (3) and wins (5).
Straight from the Rink
UW head coach Mark Johnson
On earning a top-10 win:
"It was good. We talked about most of the week making sure our compete level was really high because it's a tough rink to play in. I knew they were going to come all charged up and excited play and them being home. For most of the game, I thought we did a real nice job of managing the puck and the compete level was good for 60 minutes, We had a big penalty kill in the third period that we got through and I was happy for the group. They earned the win today. It was a hard-fought victory and early in the season and in a tough environment.
On the Badgers' defense:
In this rink, you really have to manage the puck, be aggressive on their forecheck, and if you make the turnovers in certain areas of the rink, it just makes things really challenging, and it makes outnumbered situations for scoring chances. When you manage the puck, the game becomes a lot easier to play in. We broke down a few times, and Soupy (
Kristen Campbell) played a real nice game. The nice thing is we got to the finish line and we got the win which helps out."
Abby Roque
On the power play:
"I think we just have a lot of great personnel out there. Daryl obviously a world class scorer. Britta in front has great stick skills. You've got Sophie down low with a great vision. Good scoring touch too, and Mack really anchors us, a really strong defenseman with a hard shot, and I think you put that all together, it's hard not to score goals.
On expectations for Saturday:
Another good battle. They're a good team, and they like to play hard. And I think they're going to come out even harder because we just beat them, and I think we have to be ready for that."
Up Next:
UW wraps up its series with Ohio State on Saturday with a 2 p.m. CT contest that can be seen live on FloHockey and BTN+.
