Tom Lynn/UW Athletics
Natalie Buchbinder celebrates a goal in UW’s win over Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 14.
As the Milwaukee Brewers extend their postseason run well into October, the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team already is off to a 6-0-0 start. The Badgers — ranked No. 2 in the country — have won 33 straight games at LaBahn Arena, and UW’s 3-1 win at home over No. 4 Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 14 elevated head coach Mark Johnson to the all-time winningest coach in NCAA women’s hockey history, with 465 victories.
The Badger women are seeking to improve on last season’s 31-5-2 record and a double-overtime loss to Colgate in the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four. As favorites to win the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the fourth straight year, this Badgers team boasts several returning juniors and seniors, and seems primed for a sixth straight Frozen Four appearance.
In the season’s first six games, UW outscored its three opponents 27-9, and all four home games at LaBahn were sold out. Wisconsin continues a six-game home stand through the rest of the month, with Princeton on Oct. 19 and 21, and then a tough WCHA matchup against No. 3 Minnesota on Oct. 27-28.
Tom Lynn/UW Athletics
Badgers forward Linus Weissbach (9) takes on Boston College, which dropped two games to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center, Oct. 12-13.
Meanwhile the men’s Badger hockey team is 2-0-0 following a sweep of No. 12 Boston College at the Kohl Center on Oct. 12-13. That’s a huge way to begin the season for a young team that faces a brutal schedule. Of the men’s 34 regular-season games, 29 will come against opponents ranked in preseason polls, and four of the seven Big Ten teams are coming off NCAA Frozen Four appearances last season. Additionally, three Big Ten teams were ranked in the top four to start this season: Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan.
Last season the men finished 14-19-3 and exited early from the 2018 Big Ten Tournament. The difference this year could be the fact that head coach Tony Granato is now able to fully focus on his third year at the helm, after coaching Team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics and completing his final coursework at UW in 2017 to secure a human development and family studies degree. He oversees a team heavy on freshmen and sophomores, who delivered big time against the Eagles by scoring nine of the Badgers’ 10 goals.
The Badger men will be out east this weekend, playing single games at Clarkson and St. Lawrence, before returning to the Kohl Center on Oct. 26-27 for a two-game series against Michigan Tech.
