![Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Grace Zumwinkle (12) tracked the puck in front of Wisconsin Badgers goaltender Kristen Campbell (35) in the third period. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com The Minnesota Golden Gophers played the Wisconsin Badgers in an NCAA women's hockey game Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 at the University of Minnesota's Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/DBSYHL526QDTYXBDRDMF2FJHDM.jpg?&w=1080)
An argument could be made that the women's WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena this weekend will be as competitive as the NCAA Frozen Four in two weeks.
The WCHA field features three of the top five teams in the nation — No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Gophers and No. 5 Ohio State. No. 8 Minnesota Duluth rounds out the field.
"This is almost as good as the national tourney," Gophers coach Brad Frost said. "We've got a great challenge playing one of the best teams [Ohio State] in the country."
The Gophers and Buckeyes meet in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Saturday. Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin meet in the first semifinal at 2 p.m. The winners meet in Sunday's championship game.
The Gophers and Buckeyes, coached by former Gopher Nadine Muzerall, split their four regular-season meetings. The teams split their series in Columbus in October, then again in Minneapolis in January.
"More than anything, we have to be ready to go," said Frost. "Our 4-1 loss to them here was our worst game of the year, and their best."
The Gophers will have to contend with the Buckeyes' high-scoring line of Emma Maltais, Liz Schepers and Tatum Skaggs. The trio has combined for 55 goals and 139 points.
"It's one of the top lines in the country," Frost said.
