Two dominant wins against the Merrimack Warriors (6-12-2) helped build the Wisconsin Badgers (16-4-0) women’s hockey team’s momentum for the second half of the season as they eye a second consecutive national championship.
After a two-week hiatus, the Badgers returned to the ice Jan. 5 at LaBahn Arena. Despite going down 1-0 early in the first period, junior forward Lacey Eden responded minutes later, beating three defenders with fancy hands to tie the game. Strong defensive skills and quick saves from junior goalie Jane Gervais shined in the second period as Merrimack’s offense pushed the pace.
Wisconsin first scored when sophomore forward Laila Edwards found the back of the net off of a rebound in the middle of the second period. The Badgers then went on an unstoppable scoring run of five more unanswered goals to seal the 6-1 win. Two goals from Eden and Edwards and two more from graduate forward Britta Curl and freshman forward Cassie Hall sealed the Badgers’ first win of 2024.
Despite their slow start in the first game, the Badgers came out strong in the second with four goals in the first period. Less than two and a half minutes in, sophomore forward Vivian Jungels wasted no time to score and gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead on the team’s first on-goal shot of the game. A mistake in Merrimack’s defensive zone cost them, and sophomore forward Kirsten Simms scored to widen the Badgers’ lead a minute later.
Later in the first period Simms tallied another goal on a power play and Cassie Hall scored goal number four. Two more goals in the second and third period sealed the deal for the Badgers. Notably, freshman Laney Potter also got on the scoreboard, meaning every Badger skater on the team has now scored this season. Potter’s goal propelled the Badgers to another 6-1 win on Saturday.
The Badgers will host St. Thomas for a two-game series at LaBahn Arena on Jan. 13 and 14. Wisconsin is undefeated against St. Thomas with a nine-game winning streak they will look to extend with two more wins Saturday and Sunday.
Shane Colpoys is a sports editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written in-depth on the Wisconsin women's hockey team beat.
