MADISON, Wis — The No. 1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team (25-3-2, 19-3-2) rebounded against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes at LaBahn Arena on Sunday, winning 4-1. 

Lacey Eden’s multi-point game and UW’s five successful penalty kills secured the Badgers a victory against Ohio State. The Badgers won the regular season series over the Buckeyes, 3-1-0.

Captain Eden put the Badgers on the board with just 3:43 remaining in the first period of play, getting a puck to sneak past goaltender Hailey MacLeod.

Eden kept the momentum going to begin the second period as she assisted Cassie Hall’s game-winning goal. Eden made a centering pass from one blueline to the other, threading the puck between the OSU defenders to connect with Hall – who put on the moves to score on the breakaway. 

The Badgers were up 2-0 before the Buckeyes tallied one halfway through the second.

After two back-to-back Ohio State penalties, the Badgers went 5-on-3 in the third period. It was Laney Potter who gave UW a 3-1 lead, scoring ten seconds into the 5-on-3 and providing the Badgers with needed insurance.

Less than thirty seconds later, sophomore Finley McCarthy made it 4-1 off an assist from Maggie Scannell and Ava Murphy.

UW outshot Ohio State 31-20, and freshman goaltender Rhyah Stewart made 19 saves


Head Coach Mark Johnson

On UW’s quality start:

“Today, my message to the team was about grit and determination and that’s what it was going to come down to. Obviously when Lacey [Eden] scored, like they did in yesterday’s game, it created energy for the team for the team that scored.”

On Lacey Eden’s performance:

“Whether it was killing a penalty and blocking the shot like we saw in the first period or scoring a goal in the first period, making a play on the five-on-three. She keeps playing well and consistent. Give her a lot of credit because we watched her yesterday and we watched again today, there was a lot of determination and grit.”

Forward Lacey Eden 
On the mindset entering today: 

“From the opening faceoff, we were here to play today. We had that effort that we were talking about yesterday, just getting pucks to the net. The goal was to get up 1-0 and we were able to capitalize on that. I think that helped the momentum for the rest of the game.”

 

Goaltender Rhyah Stewart

On the team’s defensive effort: 

“In the defensive zone, it’s a group effort. I just do my job to help them back there, but any help that I get is awesome.”


Notes to Know


The Badgers went 5-3-0 against top-three opponents in the regular season.



UW took back the lead in the WCHA standings after today’s win. Wisconsin (60 points) holds a two-point advantage over Ohio State (58) and a five-point advantage over Minnesota (55). There are four games remaining in the WCHA regular season for each team.



Cassie Hall is one point away from achieving 100 career points. Her goal in the second period was her 99th point. 



Lacey Eden scored her 97th career goal in the victory. The fifth-year is now three goals away from joining Hilary Knight, Brianna Decker and Meghan Duggan as the only Badger players with 100+ career goals


Up Next: The Badgers face Minnesota State Mankato at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center on Friday and Saturday Feb. 13 and 14. The games stream on Big Ten Plus.