Lacey Eden was expected by many to be playing in Italy this month for Team USA. After being left off the final roster, the Wisconsin senior has been showing her value in the NCAA for the shorthanded Badgers.
Lacey Eden was expected by many to be in Milano Cortina as a member of Team USA in the Olympic women's hockey tournament.
After being snubbed from the American roster, Eden has continued her dominance at the NCAA level taking on an even bigger role with the University of Wisconsin who is without Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Ava McNaughton, Kirsten Simms, and Adela Sapovalivova who are all competing at the Olympic Games.
In Sunday's game against Ohio State, Eden had a goal and two assists in Wisconsin's 4-1 win. She was
"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," Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson said of Eden. "Give her a lot of credit because we watched her yesterday and we watched again today, there was a lot of determination and grit."
Eden has 21 goals and 56 points this season in 30 games for the Badgers. She knew her team came to play against Ohio State after the Buckeyes beat the top ranked Badgers in the opening game of their series.
"From the opening faceoff, we were here to play today," said Eden. "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."