The Wisconsin women's hockey team begins phase two of its quest for a third national title this weekend as the Badgers host Ohio State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
Despite amassing a 27-2-5 record and securing a second-place finish in the WCHA regular season standings, the team knows that when it comes to postseason play, it is back to square one.
""Everything we've done [up until] now is behind us, and everyone's 0-0 right now,"" Wisconsin junior forward and assistant captain Meghan Duggan said. ""Everyone's going into these weekends just trying to stay afloat and trying not to let their season end.""
That inherent desperation pushes the team's sense of competition up to a whole new level.
""You're playing for something now,"" said Wisconsin senior forward and captain Erika Lawler. ""You win, you move on. You lose, you go home. I think that the energy's definitely going to be a lot higher.""
The WCHA playoffs have treated the Badgers well in recent years. Wisconsin won back-to-back tournament titles on the way to national championships in 2006 and 2007.
Last season, Wisconsin fell just short of the three-peat, losing the title game in overtime to the eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
On paper, Ohio State looks to be a favorable first round matchup for the Badgers. The Buckeyes struggled to earn an 8-23-3 record overall and registered a dismal seventh-place finish in the WCHA.
Head to head, Wisconsin outscored Ohio State 25-4 in four games this season, shutting out the Buckeyes in the last three contests. The two teams' last postseason meeting came in 2007, with Wisconsin sending Ohio State home on the short end of a 4-0 final. The Badgers have not lost to Ohio State since October 2004.
Although the odds look to be in Wisconsin's favor, postseason play offers no guarantees.
""We're going into the playoffs, and a team that's [seventh] in the WCHA right now has just as good of a chance of making it to the NCAA tournament if they win WCHA's,"" Duggan said. ""It's hard to beat a team when you're trying to end their season.""
This weekend's series with the Buckeyes also offers a change of scenery. Rather than hitting the ice at the Kohl Center, the two teams will drop the puck at the Eagle's Nest in Verona.
""We usually pack [that] arena, so there's a full crowd and the atmosphere is really energetic,"" Wisconsin sophomore defender Olivia Jakiel said. ""The crowd really gets into it. I'm looking forward to it.""
If the Badgers are going to make a run at another league playoff title, their second-place finish in the regular-season standings means that they will most likely have to go through both Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth to do it.
With both of Wisconsin's two regulation losses this year coming to the Gophers and Bulldogs, the team does not need any extra motivation to come out on top this time.
""We had a funky go at it with them these past couple of times, and it'll be really good to get another chance at beating them,"" Lawler said. ""Plus, there's a lot more at stake now, so it's definitely a good time to play them.""
First, the Lady Badgers have to take down the talented Ohio State Buckeyes. Faceoff in the best-of-three series is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Eagle's Nest, with a third game that will take place Sunday if necessary.
