In a 7-0 drubbing of the No.4 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1-1, 5-1-1-1 WCHA), the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (13-0-0, 7-0-0 WCHA) put on a clinic. Six different players scored and thirteen players had a point in what was arguably the Badgers’ most impressive win of the season.
Only three minutes in, the NCAA leader in scoring, Abby Roque, found WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Baylee Wellhausen on a breakaway. Wellhausen finished off the play with a perfectly placed shot past Ohio State goaltender Kassidy Sauve.
Wellhausen had a rough start to the season, including a shoulder injury that kept her out three games. With three goals in as many games over the past two weeks, it’s clear that there is no lasting harm from her injury.
“I do feel that I’m back,” Wellhausen said. “My shoulder isn’t hurting everytime I touch the puck. I’m feeling that I’m actually able to make good plays and feel like me again.”
During Wellhausen’s scoring streak, she has had a penchant for clutch goals, including the first goal of the first game against Minnesota and the overtime winner in the second. Wellhausen denies that she has a knack for timely scoring, joking “I’m just trying to get a goal every game.”
She attributes her recent play to her linemates, saying that “with the team’s energy and support, I think that just gives me a boost of confidence. They’ve got my back.”
Forward Presley Norby added her fifth of the season only three minutes later. The sophomore weaved around defenders untouched before slipping one past Ohio State’s Kassidy Sauve.
Roque finished off the scoring in the first period, potting her fifth of the season on a 5-on-3 power play for Wisconsin. A shaken Ohio State took three undisciplined penalties in the first period and looked lost on the ice. Wisconsin capped off the first period up by three goals and outshooting the Buckeyes 20-1.
The Badgers failed to add to their lead in a calm second period. Wisconsin put on a defensive showcase, actively using their sticks and only allowing six additional shots to lead Ohio State in that statistic 33-7 by the end of the second.
For as quiet as the second period was, the Badgers turned up the volume again in the third. Only a minute and half into the period, sophomore Alexis Mauermann scored her fourth of the season on Sauve’s high blocker side. It was a speedy goal by the left winger, and fired up a LaBahn Arena that had become restless in the second period.
Sophomore Maddie Rowe added her third of the season only two minutes later. The scoring abated for a short time, with a couple of good chances both ways by both Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Almost twelve minutes into the third, junior Sam Cogan scored her third of the season during a power play. Ohio State’s Lauren Boyle had been called for illegal checking, as the Buckeyes took their fifth penalty of the game.
The match between Wisconsin and Ohio State was clearly getting chippy, albeit only on one side. Wisconsin was not called for a penalty throughout the game. Head coach Mark Johnson discussed his team’s discipline after the game.
“You can control what you can control,” Johnson said. “So you keep talking to the players about when the whistle blows, just step away from it. It’s just playing smart and we were pretty smart the entire game.”
Mauermann scored her second of the game to cap off the blowout. Wisconsin kept up its stifling offensive pressure in the final seconds, never giving an exhausted Ohio State team any room to breathe.
Kristen Campbell finished with fourteen saves and a shutout, her fourth of the season. She furthers her historic start to 13-0-0, the best by any Badger netminder to begin their career.
The Badgers look best Ohio State again Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at LaBahn Arena while the Buckeyes look to rebound after losing their first of the season.
