Game One Coverage
Friday, Nov. 27 | 5:07 pm CT — Columbus, Ohio
Game Two Coverage
Saturday, Nov. 28 | 1:37 pm CT — Columbus, Ohio
MADISON, Wis.— The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team is heading to Columbus to face the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes for the 2020-21 season-opening weekend.
UW and OSU meet on Friday in a 5 p.m. CT clash at the OSU Ice Rink before wrapping up the series at 1:30 p.m. CT. Both games can be seen online via BTN+.
Here are five things to know to help get the season started.
1.
TOP BILLING Wisconsin heads into the first week of the season ranked No. 1 across the boards. The
WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll, the
USCHO Poll and the
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll all have the Badgers at the top.
For the WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll, Wisconsin received four first place votes, ahead of Minnesota with three. The team also began last year ranked No. 1.
The Badgers received 11 of the 15 first place votes on the USCHO poll and were last ranked No. 1. Northeastern received the other four votes.
The team received nine of 19 first place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and ended last season at No. 2. They are ahead of Cornell with seven votes, Northeastern with two and Minnesota with one.
2.
WCHA'S FINEST: Senior
Daryl Watts has been named the WCHA Preseason Player of the Year, becoming the sixth Badger to earn the preseason accolade. The UW record-holder for single-season assists with 49 last year, Watts led the NCAA in points last year with 74 and collected second-team All-America honors. Junior
Sophie Shirley joins Watts on the pre-season All-WCHA Team. A second-team All-WCHA selection last year, Shirley is one goal away from 50 for her career and one point away from 100 points.
3.
LEADING LADIES: This season, the Badgers are headed up by senior co-captains,
Grace Bowlby and
Brette Pettet. Senior
Caitlin Schneider and junior
Britta Curl will serve as alternate captains. This is the third time in four years that Wisconsin will have co-captains.
Learn more about this year's captains
here.
4.
FRESH FACES: Wisconsin welcomes six new players to the team, including five freshmen and one graduate transfer. Graduate transfer golatender
Kennedy Blair joins the Badgers from Mercyhurst. The freshmen are forwards
Casey O'Brien,
Makenna Webster and
Maddi Wheeler, defenseman
Mayson Toft and goaltender
Jane Gervais. O'Brien and Webster have experience skating for the US. under-18 team and joined teammates
Grace Bowlby,
Britta Curl and
Nicole LaMantia at the USA Hockey Evaluation Camp last month while Wheeler skated for the Canadian under-18 squad.
5.
ABOUT THE BUCKEYES: No. 4 Ohio State is 1-1 this year after earning a split in its first series at No. 3 Minnesota last weekend. The Badgers went 2-2-1 against OSU last year as UW swept OSU in Columbus to open conference play. OSU was also the last time UW faced during the 2019-20 season before the season was shut down due to COVID-19.
