Wisconsin Badgers
Minnesota State
Five things to know: Badgers battle in WCHA Final Faceoff
March 04, 2026 | Women's Hockey
UW faces Mankato in semifinal round
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team heads to the WCHA Final Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn. All games will be played at the Lee and Penny Anderson Ice Arena at the University of St. Thomas.
The Badgers face Minnesota State-Mankato in the semifinal round on Thursday, March 5 at 4 p.m. CT. If they are to advance, they will play the winner of the Ohio State vs. Minnesota game on Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m..
Fans can watch the action on Big Ten Plus/Channel 3.2 Television Wisconsin or listen to Paul Braun on The Game 1070 AM.
Here are five things to know about the series
Laila Edwards’ overtime goal that clinched UW a spot in the WCHA Final Faceoff. pic.twitter.com/ib4mkrih1E
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 1, 2026
1. DONE IN TWO
Last weekend, the Badgers met the Bemidji State Beavers for a best-of-three series in the first round of WCHA play. UW won the first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday, moving on to the Final Faceoff.
In game one, UW shut out Bemidji 7-0 as Adéla Šapovalivová and Caroline Harvey’s multi-point games led the Badgers to victory. Freshman Šapovalivová had two goals and senior Harvey had three assists. Cassie Hall, Laney Potter, Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards also joined the scoring party on Friday.
Saturday’s game saw the Badgers achieve their win in overtime. The scoring went back and forth the whole game. UW was up 2-1 in the third period via Maggie Scannell and Šapovalivová, before the Beavers found a last-second goal to send the game into an extra period. Edwards scored the overtime winning goal to clinch UW’s spot in the Final Faceoff.
2. FEBRUARY PHENOMS
Rhyah Stewart and Lacey Eden were both awarded WCHA monthly honors after their outstanding performance in February.
Stewart collected her first career Rookie of the Month award after leading the Badgers to five wins when she became UW’s starter. The freshman goaltender had a .923 save percentage in six games.
Eden earned the Forward of the Month distinction after recently surpassing 100 goals in her time at UW. Eden gathered 17 points in eight games this past month, leading the WCHA.
3. TWICE IS NICE
Wisconsin atttempts to win its 12th WCHA Tournament Championship. The Badgers are the 2024-25 reigning champs and are looking to keep the streak going.
In last year’s Final Faceoff, UW matched up against the Golden Gophers, where the Badgers brought home the victory, 4-3.
If UW is to move past Mankato, there is a 50% chance it will be a repeat of last year's game. Minnesota and Ohio State will play each other in the semi-final round, both of which UW has a competitive history against.
4. AGAINST MANKATO
UW is 113-3-3 against Mankato, and the teams have already met four times this season. The Badgers have won all four of the matchups, including a series shutout in the fall.
In October of 2025, the Badgers and the Mavericks met at home, where UW collected a series sweep with 4-0 and 8-0 wins. In game two of the series, eight different Badgers scored to put the Badgers on top. Hannah Halverson, Lacey Eden, Kelly Gorbatenko, Cassie Hall, Claire Enright, Maggie Scannell, Adéla Šapovalivová and Vivian Jungels all added to the scoring tab that game.
The two teams met again in Mankato for a WCHA Valentine's Day showdown. UW collected another sweep and won 5-1 and 4-1. The February series against the Mavericks was 5th-year Marianne Picard’s first game back after an injury, where she contributed four points with two goals and two assists.
5. TOP-THREE HISTORY
If UW advances after the game against Mankato, the Badger squad will either play No. 2 Ohio State or No. 3 Minnesota.
The 2024-25 NCAA National Championship game featured the Buckeyes and Badgers, and both teams are looking for a repeat. UW is 85-27-11 with Ohio State, but has three wins and one loss over them this season. The Buckeyes have stayed hot behind the Badgers all season in the polls.
Wisconsin is overall 60-59-16 against Minnesota, but the teams have shared the wins and losses for the regular season. In both the home and away series that the Badgers played against the Gophers, the teams have split the series.
