(2) Ohio State vs. (1) Wisconsin
Sunday at 3 p.m. central on ESPNU and ESPN+
3 Keys for Wisconsin
- Score first. Yes, the Badgers have come from behind a bunch lately, but just because they can doesn’t mean they should. Ohio State is going to grab ahold of every bit of momentum and power in this game they can and an early goal from them gives them a chance to push even more and really lean on their strong forecheck. It feels like every second of this game is going to matter and the Badgers don’t want to spent a bunch of that time playing catch up. In their win over UW early in the season, OSU went up 2-0 10 minutes into the game.
- Win the neutral zone. Wisconsin wants to move quickly in transition and break out through the middle of the ice and Ohio State is one of the teams that is very good at tripping them up with that. They have a massive forecheck and want to slow UW from gaining the zone and getting set up.
- Meet the moment. Wisconsin has come from behind, stuck to their game plan, played free and not gotten rattled all season. This is what they’ve been fighting for. Build off the crowd, don’t overthink it and trust the belief they’ve had in each other all season.
3 keys for Ohio State
- Clean defense. The Buckeyes have to take care of the puck – no turnovers on defense, getting the puck out of the zone quickly and not giving up second- and third-chance opportunities in front of the net. Amanda Thiele has to play as well as she ever has in net, limit rebounds and be smart about where she directs the puck.
- Special teams. In the game OSU beat Wisconsin, the Badgers’ only two goals came on the power play. They did a great job of shutting UW down, but let them back in with those opportunities. The game-winning goal came short-handed for OSU. They have to excel on both sides of penalty situations and they also have to play smart and limit their penalties, as well.
- Lean in to the narrative. Wisconsin is the favorites and it appears they’ll have a big crowd of fans in the building. They’ve gotten all the attention and Ohio State would love nothing more than to play villain here. Embrace the underdog mentality, let the chip on their shoulder drive you and revel in when they can quiet the crowd.
