Well, we made it to the Final Faceoff weekend after what was a thrilling opening round in the WCHA.
Now four teams will fight for the chance to win the WCHA championship on Saturday. Here, we’ll take a look at the four remaining teams who will faceoff in the semifinals on Thurday.
The Format
Here’s a refresher on the teams battling it out this week in the WCHA.
Final Faceoff Preview
No. 5 Minnesota State vs. No. 1 Wisconsin. Thursday at 4 P.M. CT.
Hailey Hansen Powers Minnesota State to the Semifinals
The Mavericks didn’t start on the right foot when they began the conference playoffs on Friday afternoon. They were shutout 2-0 by the Bulldogs who had a streaking goalie in Ève Gascon that recorded her four shutouts in her last six games.
Minnesota State’s own Hailey Hansen though, has never been timid in the WCHA playoffs. Last year, Hansen powered the Mavs to a three game series against Minnesota which included an incredible performance in game two that went into double overtime before Minnesota State skated away with the win.
It felt like Déjà vu again this year. Hansen took part in another double overtime game in Saturday’s 2-1 win over UMD. She made a season high 55 saves to force a game three in the first round for the second straight year. In game three, the team played well in front of Hansen with great forechecking and limited second chances for the Bulldogs. Even though there wasn’t much offense to benefit Hansen in any of the three games, she was able to work with what she did get. In the quarterfinals, she stopped 140 of 144 shots faced including stopping 41 of 42 faced in game three. The Mavericks are making only their second appearance in the Final Faceoff semis. The first appearance came in 2009.
After last season’s performance and a great regular season to match as well, Hansen is a player to watch heading into the semifinals.
Chaos Ensues for Wisconsin
Wisconsin faced Bemidji State in the WCHA First Round again this season. Photo by Kali Mick via uwbadgers.com
The defending National Champions and regular season title winners also swept their series over the weekend against Bemidji State, though at one point it looked like it wouldn’t been as easy as it had been in the past.
The Badgers seamlessly won the first game of the series 7-0 behind Ava McNaughton’s seventh shutout of the season. Five players recorded multi-point outings including four Olympians such as Caroline Harvey and Adéla Šapovalivová. Even McNaughton recorded an assist! Everything seemed like it would be a breeze.
Then Saturday happened.
After a typical period where Wisconsin didn’t allow a goal… they also didn’t score one either. They gave up the first goal of the game in the second period to in stunning fashion as McNaughton played the puck behind her net then fell which led to a giveaway goal for Hailey Armstrong.
Two minutes later Wisconsin tied the game at one. Yet, more chaos was en route.
Twice go-ahead goals were called back for both teams in the later part of the second period. Šapovalivová eventually scored to give Wisconsin the 2-1 lead by the end of the period.
For a team that put up 5.33 goals scored per game in conference play and scored seven the previous night with no problem, the Badgers weren’t finding the back of the net. It was only the sixth time in the season the team had ever scored two or fewer goals.
This is a team leading the conference in numerous categories including goals against average with just 1.42 allowed by their opponents. Yet, BSU remained in the game enough to tie it at two with 25 seconds left in regulation.
When all was said and done Olympic gold medalist Laila Edwards found the back of the net a little over a minute into overtime to win it for Wisconsin 3-2, after a huge first round scare.
Wisconsin can absolutely have another smooth ride throughout the conference championship and the NCAA playoffs, if they stick to their game and remain calm when the wackiness of hockey comes knocking.
No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 2 Ohio State. Thursday at 7:30 P.M. CT.
The Gophers Awaken in Time
Much like the Mavericks, the Gophers also didn’t get off to a great start to their conference playoffs. They were shutout on Friday night by St. Cloud State and lost 1-0 in overtime off a game-winning goal after a Huskies faceoff win. But that loss seemed to be what Minnesota needed to wake up.
Though they were pushed to a three game series for the third year in a row, the Gophers looked like a different team on Saturday and Sunday. The offense had new life as they outscored St. Cloud 10-2 in the final two games of the series. Minnesota also put up 50 shots on goal on Saturday and 42 on Sunday. Plenty of players had multi-point games including Sydney Morrow, Chloe Primerano, rookie Bella Fanale, and star captain Abbey Murphy.
While things started out slow for the team in game one, they were able to rejuvenate their offense and put up the numbers normally seen by the Gophers. Those are the numbers they’ll need to add pressure on Ohio State when they meet in the semis.
First Round Ease for Ohio State
The Buckeyes had a standout performance all around. They allowed only two goals in two games and put up 66 shots on goal that resulted in nine goals over the weekend. Defender Sara Swiderski put together an incredible series. She finished with five points on two goals and three assists and had a four point outing on Friday.
Saturday’s game saw Olympians Hilda Svensson and Mira Jungåker record a goal and two assists each to help Ohio State move on to the semifinals with a 5-2 win.
Ohio State is in good hands entering the semifinals with offense coming from every position and players putting up multi-point performances. They’re going to need to keep up the offense and work their defense in their matchup against the Gophers on Thursday.
You can check out more info on the WCHA postseason page here.
We’ll be back to preview each NCAA regional matchup once the bracket is announced on March 8. Until then, enjoy the rest of the conference playoffs around the NCAA.
