The Wisconsin-Minnesota State rivalry has been a one-sided affair for quite some time. The two teams faced each other seven times last season, and the Badgers won all but one of the games. Prior to that loss, the Badgers had won eight straight matchups between the teams, four of which were shutouts.
Through 10 games this season, the Mavericks are still winless with only one tie against St. Cloud State. They’re in the midst of a six-game losing streak, coming off of tough weekend matchups against Ohio State and Minnesota-Duluth.
Wisconsin currently sits atop the WCHA rankings at 9-1-2, despite sitting behind Minnesota in the national rankings. UW had last weekend off, but the four points they earned against North Dakota prior was enough to keep them in first.
At the bottom of the standings is Minnesota State, who fields one of the least experienced teams in the nation. They have only five seniors on their roster with a huge freshman class of 12 skaters. As their young players grow together, they will become a formidable squad, but at the moment, they are going through significant growing pains.
The Mavericks really struggle on all three phases. They average only 0.9 goals on 16.8 shots a game, while allowing 3.4 and 43. They have also converted only two of their 23 power play opportunities.
MSU’s youth has left them without experienced impact players. Only one player, freshman forward Nicole Schammel, has more than one goal or more than 20 shots. On the other side, the Mavericks have only two upperclassmen defenders, one of which, senior Elisabeth Hewett, has missed the team’s last three games.
Goaltenders Brianna Quade and Erin Krichiver, a sophomore and junior respectively, can only do so much when they face nearly 15 shots each period. They’ve still managed a combined save percentage of 92.1, which is higher than that of Wisconsin sophomore goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens.
Injuries have only made matters worse; the Mavericks were down to only 12 players last weekend, and it remains to be seen how many they will have for Thursday and Friday’s games.
That strange Thursday-Friday schedule presents some challenges for Badgers’ coach Mark Johnson and his team.
“Well, for us, you know, it becomes a school issue,” Johnson said at a press conference Monday. “It’s going to be their ability to come in and take their school hat off and put on their hockey helmet and go out and perform Thursday night.”
Johnson is hoping to get another strong weekend from redshirt senior forward Brittany Ammerman, who picked up her seventh and eighth goals of the season in their last series with North Dakota. She is now third in the conference in goals and fourth in points. Her coach is proud of how she has progressed.
“She came into this year knowing it’s her senior year, and you only have 34 games left,” he said. “And so she practices hard. You know, she’s in a good position right now, and hopefully she’ll continue to play the way she has the last year and a half.”
If the Badgers can come away with a pair of wins, the six conference points gained could solidify their spot at the top of the WCHA as the No. 2 and No. 3 teams, Minnesota and Ohio State, face each other this weekend.
