MADISON, Wis. – The third-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team faces one of its toughest tests of the season as the Badgers travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on No. 2 Ohio State this weekend. Puck drop at the OSU Ice Rink is set for 5 p.m. CT on Friday and 2 p.m. CT on Saturday. Both games can be seen live on B1G+.
1. LAST TIME OUT: UW is coming off of its first sweep of 2022 as the Badgers corralled Minnesota State last weekend at LaBahn Arena. UW earned a 5-2 win on Friday as
Daryl Watts posted two goals and two assists and
Casey O'Brien also had two goals. On Saturday, Watts enjoyed a five-point game while
Delaney Drake also scored twice to lift the Cardinal and White to a 7-2 triumph.
2: WATTS ON THE MOVE: Badgers
Daryl Watts enjoyed a memorable weekend at LaBahn Arena as she posted nine points to move into second place in NCAA history in career points with 293. The Toronto, native is only 10 points away from matching the NCAA record for career points of 303, which is held by Meghan Agosta of Mercyhurst. Watts also moved into the top five in NCAA history in career goals with her 133rd tally.
3. AGAINST THE BUCKEYES: Wisconsin leads the all-time series against Ohio State 75-17-10 and has a 26-8-4 record against OSU since the 2013-14 season.
Daryl Watts has 18 points off nine goals and nine assists in 13 games against OSU, while
Sophie Shirley has 17 points in 18 games.
Casey O'Brien has seven points in eight games against the Buckeyes.
4. GOLDEN BADGERS: Five Badgers claimed gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics as Kristen Campbell, Emily Clark, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull helped Canada to a 3-2 win on Thursday. Nurse scored and added an assist to break the women's record for the most points recorded at a single Olympic tournament as the former Badger All-American ended the tournament with 18 points in seven games. Her 13 assists were also the most at a single women's Olympics.
In addition, former UW standouts Alex Cavallini, Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight and Abby Roque, along with incoming freshman Caroline Harvey - were on the Team USA squad that earned silver. The 10 Badgers that were at the Olympics was a program record.
5. UP NEXT: The Badgers will open up postseason play next weekend with a WCHA Quarterfinal Series at LaBahn Arena. The best-of-three series will begin on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. and will continue on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. A third game, if necessary, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. Tickets for the WCHA Quarterfinal Series will go on sale this Friday.
The winner of the WCHA Quarterfinal will advance to the 2022 WCHA Final Faceoff, March 5-6, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 5 while the championship game will take place on Sunday, March 6.
