For Gophers, Badgers women's hockey, Chicago Mission players have a legacy of excellence

Chicago Mission is a junior hockey program that draws and develops players throughout that enormous metropolitan area. It has been around for two decades, supplanting Team Illinois as the junior powerhouse, and has had particular success in producing talent for the women's college teams.

Quite a few representatives also on U.S. national teams.

The Gophers first tapped into Mission with outstanding defender Megan Bozek, who arrived in the fall of 2009. And as a senior on the 41-0 team of 2012-13, she set a Gophers record with 57 points as a defender. She then played in three Olympics.

"No, two — 2014 in Sochi and 2022 in Beijing; I got cut in 2018?" Bozek said this week.

Really? Who would have done such a thing?

"Robb Stauber," she said.

No bitterness could be heard in Bozek's voice ... not these days living in Toronto, with the excitement of a first baby due for Megan and her husband on Christmas Day.

Bozek said: "I think that's right. Several of us left Team Illinois for Mission when our coach went there. And it has turned into an amazing development program for Chicago youth hockey."

Back then, Wisconsin had the advantage of proximity and that gave them an advantage with the top recruits from Triple-A juniors.

"I took the visit to Minnesota, loved it, and never regretted a moment," Bozek said.

Brad Frost was just getting started as Gophers coach. Bozek was the first evidence of a strong relationship with the Mission program and that has continued.

On Friday night, the Badgers were at Ridder Arena for the start of the two-game series. The Gophers' first line had two Mission players — center Ella Huber and superstar right wing Abbey Murphy. The Badgers lineup had freshman Kelly Gorbatenko from Mission centering a line.

Then Huber made her visit to Minnesota and found out what Bozek had over a decade ago: "I loved the place, loved the program."

On Friday night, there was strong evidence that the fire that burns between the Gophers and the Badgers in women's hockey is much stronger than any bond between former Mission players. A couple of Murphy's tangles were with Gorbatenko.

Murphy had scored early, celebrated stylishly, and the Badgers did some excessive bumping — knowing she had the quick trigger of a Sox fan. Feisty? I'm guessing Abbey, if she was a few decades older, might have been an All-Star at Mike Veeck's Disco Demolition Night.

Murphy scored on the one-person rush earlier, scored again later, got stopped on another breakaway and was given a five-minute slashing major. The refs spent several minutes looking for video confirmation, admitted that the moment was not available for review, but gave Murphy the major on the basis of strong suspicion.

It was already 4-on-4 when the major was called and Wisconsin quickly scored to take a 2-1 lead halfway through the first period.

Fifteen minutes after the victory was posted, Murphy came out to meet the small group of media — barefoot, and looking as sure of herself as you hoped watching from a distance.

That major? "I got cross-checked and it wasn't called," Murphy said. "I went back at her and she put her hands to her face. No way I got her in the face."

They called it a major? "Of course; it was me," she said.

They wanted to get you riled up all night, it seemed? "That's part of the game," she said. "I got to work on staying out of it."

Shrug. "But that's not my best thing."

"Nothing better than putting the puck in the back of the net," she said.

When Murphy wrapped it up, Frost was asked if there was an edgy, talented comparison to Murphy as a former Gopher he had coached.