A Thanksgiving trip to the nation’s capital was a mixed bag for No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey.
Participating in the four-team DI event in Washington, D.C., this weekend, Wisconsin saw its undefeated record slip away. Despite suffering its first loss of the season Friday to Northeastern, however, the Badgers (17–1–0 overall, 8–0–0 WCHA) bounced back Saturday to defeat Boston University.
Friday saw Northeastern go up 2–0 and later 3–1 before Wisconsin closed the gap to 3–2 late in the third period on a goal by Abby Roque. It was not enough, however, as Wisconsin lost for the first time in 2017-18.
Saturday was a different story. Wisconsin went down early 1–0 on a first-minute BU goal by Victoria Bach, but responded with two first-period goals of their own by Baylee Wellhausen and Mikaela Gardner.
The Badgers added third-period goals by Alexis Mauermann and Claudia Kepler, bookending a second goal by Bach to give Wisconsin the 4–2 win.
Wisconsin finished the game with 35 shots on goal. Badgers goaltender Kristen Campbell stopped 23 shots in the win.
Despite the loss, Wisconsin kept the top spot in the USCHO.com poll released Monday, taking all 15 first-place votes.
Through 18 games, Roque is 10th in the nation in scoring with 22 points. Sophomore forward Presley Norby is tied for 14th with 18 points. Campbell has been a revelation this season with a .943 save percentage and 1.12 GAA to go along with her 17 wins.
The Badgers return home for WCHA action against Minnesota Duluth this weekend. Puck drops on Friday at 5 p.m.
Head coach Mark Johnson addressed local media during his weekly press conference on Monday: