Ohio State and Wisconsin will once again battle for a conference championship Saturday, this time in Minneapolis at the WCHA women's hockey championships.
The Badgers have already beaten the Buckeyes four times this year en route to a 31-1-4 record and a No. 2 ranking in the USA Today women's hockey poll. But head coach Mark Johnson is still preparing diligently for the #10 Ohio State.
""Saturday's game will be one of those games that if you win, you get to move on,"" Johnson said regarding the semifinal meeting. ""If you lose, you end up coming back home.""
Wisconsin won the four-team playoff last year, and would face the winner of Minnesota vs. Minnesota-Duluth for the championship on Sunday given a victory over Ohio State. Minnesota-Duluth dealt the Badgers their only loss of the season in November, a 2-0 defeat at the Kohl Center.
Johnson said experience would help his team during the high-pressure games this weekend, noting that the seniors have already played on the biggest stages more than once.
""They've experienced the good side of it, and they also experienced losing in those types of games,"" he said.
Another thing helping Wisconsin will be the return of freshman forward Meghan Duggan, who missed last weekend's quarterfinal games against North Dakota with a knee injury.
Johnson said the quick return was a testament to modern medicine, but also pointed to Duggan's desire to play as reason for her being back on the ice.
""She's just a very classy young lady and certainly has three more great years here at the university,"" Johnson said. ""Those type of things test people's character, and she conducted herself very well.""
In addition to a potent scoring attack, the defending NCAA champions will look to their goalkeeping as they try to make another postseason run. Johnson said sophomore Jessie Vetter would likely start Saturday's game, but that the Badgers could use a rotation of goalies in the NCAA tournament.
""It's going to be not just an instant decision,"" Johnson said. ""It's going to be sit back and analyze it [decision], who we're going to play against, which goaltender matches up.""
Although Wisconsin is sure to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament, Ohio State could find themselves on the outside looking in with a disappointing showing against the Badgers.
Johnson insisted Ohio State is a dangerous team despite Wisconsin's sweep of the regular season series, and pointed to the prospect of March hockey as a potential motivator for the Buckeyes on Saturday.
""They've got a great set of defenseman, and they've got an excellent power play,"" said the fifth-year coach. ""I would anticipate it being a very tight, close-checking game and probably come down to one team making a certain play at a particular time and winning by a goal.""
