Wisconsin Women's Hockey: Senior Day Shellacking

Wisconsin (28-1-2, 22-1-2 WCHA) needed just one point in the WCHA conference standings as it entered the weekend to claim another championship. With the impressive resume it has put together already, UW has its eyes set on hopefully winning several trophies. However, Badgers head coach Mark Johnson revealed the importance of this regular season title.

"Of the trophies that we have a chance to win... whether it's our league playoff championship or an NCAA championship, this one's hard," Johnson said during his weekly media availability on Tuesday. "You have to play 28 games. You have to be consistent. You know who you're going to play against, whether on the road or at home; this year's no different than probably the last two, three, four years where anybody can beat anybody.

"At the end of the day if you're the team that's at the top of that list and you've won our league championship, you've done something special."

The win on Saturday gave Johnson, the winningest coach in the history of NCAA DI women's ice hockey, and his team that "something special" accomplishment. It is the Wisconsin women's hockey program's first regular season championship since 2021.

Wisconsin Women's Hockey Seniors Win First WCHA Regular Season Championship

The Badgers honored six graduating seniors on Saturday before their final home series of the regular season. Forwards Lacey Eden, Marianne Picard, Sarah Wozniewicz, Casey O'Brien, defenders Katie Kotlowski, and goaltender Quinn Kuntz participated in the festivities.

Even with an NCAA championship, NCAA runner-up finish, and a WCHA playoff championship under their belts, that WCHA regular season title had eluded a couple of members of that senior class. 

"The only people - I think - who have won a regular season title are maybe the fifth-years who have been here from the start," Badgers co-captain O'Brien said on Tuesday. "I think this is one title that a lot of people on the team are super excited about. It's probably the hardest title to win because you have to be consistent throughout the whole season, so it's really special."

O'Brien, Eden, and Kotlowski were part of the 2021 Wisconsin team that won the WCHA. Before transferring to UW, Kuntz won two regular-season titles at Ohio State. Picard and Wozniewicz, however, had not previously won the crown in their three prior seasons in Madison. 

"We're all just really excited and it speaks to the consistency that we've had," said O'Brien. 

Three Stars of the Game

Third Star: Kirsten Simms

Badgers winger Kirsten Simms assisted on four goals Saturday. Her 37 assists are the second-most in the country and only trail her teammate, O'Brien. 

Second Star: Casey O'Brien

The Badgers' career leader in assists tallied her 156th career helper and added two goals. The center leads the nation in scoring with two points per game. 

First Star: Laila Edwards

Laila Edwards rounded out the three stars of the game, along with her linemates. The Cleveland Heights, Ohio, native is putting together an impressive junior season as the country's leading goal scorer. Against Minnesota, Edwards scored her 27th and 28th goals of the season and assisted on both of O'Brien's goals. 

Two Badgers Defenders Injured in Victory Over Minnesota

It was not all sunshine and rainbows for the Badgers on Saturday. A pair of injuries could potentially leave Wisconsin thin on the blue line. 

Both defenders on Johnson's second unit left the game with injuries. In the first period, Ava Murphy skated off slowly after appearing to suffer a non-contact injury. In the second, Laney Potter exited after colliding with Minnesota's Abbey Murphy. Neither Ava Murphy nor Potter returned.

In Murphy and Potter's absence, McKayla Zilisch skated on defense in the third period, and Edwards shifted from forward to the blue line. Edwards spent time playing defense during UW's non-conference schedule and earlier this year for Team USA. 

First-year defender Grace Bickett would be most likely to enter the lineup if Murphy or Potter miss time due to injury. Bickett has appeared in three games this season for the Wisconsin women's hockey team, recording two shots on goal. 

Wisconsin hosts Minnesota in the series finale Sunday at noon.