At first glance of the box scores it is tough to tell the difference between the Yankees-Red Sox championship series and a Wisconsin Women's hockey game. The Badgers (2-0 WCHA, 4-0 overall) are ranked No. 4 in the nation and have averaged a blistering 7.75 goals per game average over the first four games of the season.
Overall the team has scored 31 goals while allowing only three. The team also boasts five of the top 20 scorers in the nation. This weekend, the Badgers take their steamrolling offense to Columbus, Ohio to battle a tough Ohio State team.
The Buckeyes swept Minnesota State last weekend and currently boast a record of 2-0 in the WCHA conference and 3-1 overall.
Head Coach Mark Johnson has warned his team that things will continue to get tougher from here on out. Ohio State has a solid defense and has given up only 1.5 goals a game, which is a far cry from anything that the Badgers have seen thus far this season.
A possible problem for the Badgers could be their recent string of penalties. Last game against Bemidji State, the Badgers committed 16 penalties compared to only 10 for the Beavers. It will be much harder to get away with penalties against Ohio State.
\We go into a smaller barn next week,"" said Johnson. ""Ohio State's got the smallest rink, dimension-wise, of all the rinks in the league. So, we'll do some things in practice to help that. We need to work on our penalty-kill and continue to work on our power play.""
The Badgers defense has been great thus far this season. The defense is led by senior leaders defender Molly Engstrom and defender Carly MacLeon. Johnson loves the foundation his defense provides. He said, ""When you have Carla and Molly-the quality players that those two are-there is a lot of ability on the blueline."" Engstrom leads the entire nation in power play goals and should be a key to the Badgers success this weekend.
After such a strong start, it will be very important for the Lady Badgers to keep up the momentum. The top four teams get to compete for a national title and Wisconsin is right in the thick of things. They will have to take each game one at a time and not get ahead of themselves.
