Wisconsin women's hockey faces 'better each year' Tommies
Head coach Mark Johnson is hoping for 'consistent work habits' from the Badger women's hockey team
The top-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team closes an elongated three-week road stretch of WCHA play by heading to the newly-opened Lee & Penny Anderson Arena at the University of St. Thomas. The Tommies gave the Badgers a run for their money in Madison by forcing overtime, and Wisconsin knows this St. Thomas program is much improved from when it first transitioned up from Division III.
“They keep getting better each year,” UW defender Caroline Harvey said.
After closing its first half of the season on the road, and opening the second half with back-to-back road series, the Badgers will return to play on home ice next weekend for the first time since before Thanksgiving.
Wisconsin (19-1-2, 13-1-2 WCHA) will attempt to maintain its slim lead in the WCHA conference standings over the Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU trails UW by just three points (equivalent to one regulation win) after the Badgers fell in a shootout to Minnesota Duluth last weekend.
Who to watch: Rylee Bartz
The focal point of the Tommies’ offense is on pace for her most productive season offensively by far. Through 22 games, Rylee Bartz has tallied 12 goals and 10 assists - putting her one shy of a career-high 23 points in a single campaign. So far, the Fargo, North Dakota native is the only St. Thomas player to have reached double-digit goals. Forward Chloe Boreen’s eight are second-most among all Tommies.
In her junior year, Bartz has capitalized on opportunities far more often. Her 12 goals are already a single-season career-high, and the forward has only needed 76 shots on goal to reach it. Bartz logged 133 shots when scoring 10 goals as a rookie.
That shot-making ability bit Wisconsin when it last met St. Thomas. Immediately after exiting the penalty box in the third period, Tommies forward Madison Brown delivered “an alley-oop pass” to Bartz on a breakaway, who in turn scored a third-period go-ahead goal.
Bartz’ penchant for scoring timely goals and capitalizing on opportunities, especially against the Badgers, makes her the Tommie to monitor this weekend. In games that Bartz has scored a goal this season, St. Thomas is 7-4. When Bartz does not find the back of the net, the Tommies are 3-8.
What to watch: Does Wisconsin bring ‘consistent work habits?’
The top-ranked Badgers can, at their best, dominate seemingly any opponent. A 6-1 win over No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus and a 7-2 win over No. 3 Minnesota in the first half of the year proved that.
But in the opening game those series against the Buckeyes and Gophers, it was a different story. Night one at OSU was a one-goal affair. Minnesota dominated Wisconsin 5-1 their first time out.
Playing their first game in over a month, the Badgers saw similar results last weekend against No. 8 Minnesota Duluth. The WCHA foes battled to a 1-1 draw on Friday with Duluth winning the shootout before Wisconsin dominated the Bulldogs 5-1 on night two.
Head coach Mark Johnson said his team lacked “consistent work habits” throughout the weekend.
“Friday there was some inconsistency especially in the third period,” he added. Duluth outshot Wisconsin in the third period of the series opener. The Bulldogs added a season-high 22 blocks to hold the nation’s highest scoring offense in check.
“After Friday’s game my big message Saturday morning to the group was you know our work habits have to be better,” said Johnson. “So, third period Friday, they outworked us. They won a bunch of 50-50 battles, they had puck possession, they created opportunities. You know, we almost snuck away in overtime where we played pretty well but the big thing for me was going to be the effort and it had to be consistent throughout everybody and had to start with the first shift. And by doing that, you know, they showcased themselves.”
UW outshot UMD 49-17 night two, added a shorthanded goal when killing a five-minute major penalty, and got five goals past reigning WCHA Goaltender of the Year Ève Gascon. It was the first time Gascon had allowed five goals to any opponent since the Badgers hosted the Bulldogs on October 12, 2024.
Why to watch: Can St. Thomas give Wisconsin another run for its money?
The Tommies were on the receiving end of another up and down weekend by the Badgers in the first semester. Wisconsin dominated the series opener inside LaBahn 8-0, but the Badgers needed a late third-period equalizer before winning in overtime. Not to mention Kirsten Simms’ barely too late buzzer-beater attempt that would have won the game in regulation.
“They’ve gave a lot of teams a run for their money and come up with some big wins as well and obviously they gave us a run for our money,” UW goaltender Ava McNaughton said of the Tommies. “I think it’s just a testament to where their program is at.”
St. Thomas has yet to win a game against Wisconsin since transitioning to Division I and joining the WCHA ahead of the 2021-22 season, but that most recent contest shows the Tommies are clawing their way toward the top half of the conference.
“They’ve come a long way,” Badgers captain Caroline Harvey added. “They continue to progress and develop.”
How to watch Wisconsin women’s hockey at St. Thomas: Streaming, radio
Where: Lee & Penny Anderson Arena - University of St. Thomas - St. Paul, Minnesota
Listen: 1070 AM The Game / iHeart Radio (Paul Braun play-by-play, Mark Greenhalgh analyst)
Game 1
When: Friday, January 16th, 2:00 p.m. Central
Watch: Big Ten Plus
Game 2:
When: Saturday, January 17th, 2:00 p.m.
Watch: Big Ten Plus
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