The Gophers and Wisconsin women’s hockey teams always rank among the best in the country. But this weekend’s showdown might not pack a punch.
The third-ranked Gophers (22-4-0, 16-4-0 WCHA) play host to top-ranked Wisconsin (23-1-2, 17-1-2) for games on Friday, Jan. 30 and Saturday, Jan. 31 at Ridder Arena.
But because of the upcoming Winter Olympics, both teams will be without several key players.
The Gophers will be missing four players who made Olympic rosters. One is captain Abbey Murphy, who tied the program record for career goals Jan. 24 against St. Cloud State. It was the forward’s final college game before joining Team USA for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in Italy.
Also departing the Gophers for the Olympics are forward Josefin Bouveng (Sweden), defender Nelli Laitinen (Finland) and forward Tereza Plosova (Czech Republic).
“We’re super proud of them,” Gophers coach Brad Frost told reporters at Ridder Arena following the team’s 5-1 victory over St. Cloud State on Jan. 24. “They’ve earned it and they deserved it. We want them to get out there and relax and not worry about us. Worry about their country and play as well as they can fulfilling their lifelong dream to play in the Olympics.
“We’re excited for them and our group, too. For players to be in some roles they maybe haven’t been and some other leaders to step up. We’re looking forward to the challenge in the next month.”
The Badgers will be missing four players who made the Team USA roster in defender Caroline Harvey, forward Kirsten Simms, defender Laila Edwards and goaltender Ava McNaughton. Harvey has been named the WCHA Defender of the Year the past two seasons. She is Wisconsin’s leading scorer this season with 52 points in 26 games. Simms is third on the team in points (48) and Edwards is fourth (36). McNaughton is 22-1-2 in Wisconsin’s net and leads the nation in wins.
