The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers cruised past the Lindenwood Lions in a crushing 6-0 blowout win in their season opener as redshirt junior Jane Gervais delivered an exciting shutout.
Despite a long offseason and mass exodus of Badgers to the new Professional Women’s Hockey League, the reigning champs had high expectations for the 2023 season. Wisconsin tied for first with Ohio State in the 2023-24 WCHA Coaches Poll. WCHA Rookie of the Year Caroline Harvey was named the WCHA Preseason Player of the Year, and senior Casey O’Brien and sophomore Kirsten Simms were named to the Preseason All-WCHA Team.
The pressure of high honors and expectations from the preseason didn’t get to the team, though, as many Badgers contributed to Lindenwood’s crushing defeat.
Sophomore Laila Edwards netted the first goal of the season late into the first period to put the Badgers up1-0. After dangling through a handful of Lion defenders, all she had to do was get the puck past the goalie. Less than a minute later, Chayla Edwards would swing behind the goal and deliver a pass to Sarah Wozniewicz, who buried the puck in front of the goal with a packed crease.
Later in the second period, Simms and O’Brien skated circles around the Lion defenders. O’Brien dumped the puck off to Simms, who pulled a filthy move to find an open lane and beat Natalie Ferenc glove side. Around the nine minute mark, O’Brien would pull off another circus move to net her first goal of the season and put the score at 4-0 Wisconsin.
The scoring didn’t stop there. Redshirt junior Lacy Eden posted two more goals in the third period. Her first goal was on a three-versus-two slow break where she had an open shot at point-blank range. Eden tallied another glove side goal a few minutes later after a blocked breakaway attempt by Britta Curl.
The final score was 6-0 Wisconsin.
Despite the scoring frenzy from the Badgers, Lindenwood goalie Natalie Ferenc had a solid outing. Although Ferenc let up six goals, the senior had a 90.8 save percentage on 65 shots.
On the other hand, Gervais was perfect, delivering the third shutout of her career. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to work too hard to earn that mark as she only faced five shots on goal.
Gervais’s light work was a product of Wisconsin’s aggressive defense and dominance in face-offs. The Badgers won 71% of face-offs, helping them maintain possession and eliminate Lindenwood’s offense.
The Badgers hope to repeat another dominant performance against the Lions on Friday at 3 p.m. Their home opener is Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. against Boston College.
