Wisconsin and Ohio State will go head-to-head in the Frozen Four women's hockey national championship final. Here's a look at how each part of their lineups match up head-to-head.
Wisconsin and Ohio State will go head-to-head in the Frozen Four women's hockey national championship final. Here's a look at how each part of their lineups match up head-to-head.
Wisconsin and Ohio State are set to drop the puck for a national championship. It's a rematch of last year's national championship game, which Wisconsin won 1-0, and a rematch of the WCHA final this season where Wisconsin again came out on top with a 6-3 victory. Despite this, Ohio State enters as the top ranked team in the nation, and there's reason to believe this heavyweight battle could go either way. Here's how the team's stack up.
Forwards: Edge To Wisconsin
It seems almost ridiculous to say this about a team featuring veterans Hannah Bilka and Jennifer Gardiner, and youngsters like NCAA Rookie of the Year Joy Dunne, but up front, Ohio State is vastly outgunned. Wisconsin can roll line after line of attacking, offensively gifted players onto the ice. It's a group that only begins with the NCAA's leading scorer and Patty Kasmaier finalist Kirsten Simms, to fellow Patty Kazmaier final three finalist and First Team All-American Casey O'Brien. Laila Edwards has been an absolute force.over the last two months, developing into one of the most difficult threats in the nation to defend. When you move beyond this trio, and realize the next to players to discuss - Britta Curl and Lacey Eden - are both members of USA's senior national team, and they weren't the first mentioned, you realize how deep this group is.
Defenders: Edge To Ohio State
Read the above, and flip it. Wisconsin has one of the best defenders in the world in Caroline Harvey. They also have elite two-way defender Vivian Jungels, USA national team prospect Anna Wilgren, young stars Ava Murphy and Laney Potter, and the rock solid Chayla Edwards. But it's still a group that can't match the experience and top to bottom depth of Ohio State's blueline. It's probable four members of Ohio State's blueline - Cayla Barnes, Lauren Bernard, Hadley Hartmetz, and Stephanie Markowski - all end up playing in the PWHL next season. It's likely those four could be in the PWHL this season. Emma Peschel is a contender to make Team USA, and veteran Riley Brengman is an often overlooked staple to Ohio State's blueline. It's only an edge, but the edge on the blueline goes to Ohio State.
Goaltenders: Even
It's shocking that Ava McNaughton's season will end one way or another on Sunday. The shock is the fact she's not headed to Lake Placid as one of the candidates to represent USA at the World Championships. It would not be surprising to see McNaughton in the mix for USA's net in the coming seasons. For an NCAA rookie netminder to take her team to the National championship final is impressive. At the other end of the ice, and the other end of her NCAA career is Raygan Kirk. Scoring is low in the PWHL for a reason, that being the immense depth of goaltenders. When you look at a netminder of Kirk's calibre and realize there may not be room for her in the league next season, it's baffling. Kirk was spectacular this season, and given this is the final game of her NCAA career, one can expect she'll fight for everything. Both are spectacular, both have been hot, either can step up and steal a game.
PWHL Draft: Ohio State Landslide
Looking at the top prospects in this game, they're actually on the Wisconsin side, just not this season. Ohio State will almost certainly have two PWHL first round draft picks come out of their program this season in Cayla Barnes and Hannah Bilka. Beyond that duo, Markowski, Hartmetz, Gardiner, and Bernard are very likely candidates for the draft. Kesley King plays a steller bottom six role, and teams looking for a specific stylistic addition could take her even though her numbers dropped off a cliff this season, and the aforementioned Kirk could fill a role in the PWHL next year, but almost certainly won't be drafted as teams can fulfil goaltending needs in free agency. For Wisconsin, Britta Curl and Anna Wilgren are the sure thing draft picks. Teams shouldn't overlook Chayla Edwards if they want a character, bottom pairing defender who can actually...defend.
The Future: It's Not The End For Wisconsin
Ohio State has a huge graduating class, and aside from Mira Jungaker and Josie St. Martin, the immediate impact of their incoming class won't come close to filling that void. Jungaker is a special defender, but with four of their top six graduating to pro, it's a huge hole. Wisconsin on the other hand is loaded with young talent. Beyond the stars already mentioned, the team has players like Cassie Hall and Claire Enright who could take large steps forward next season. They also have some significant star power joining as recruits, including the captains of USA and Canada's U-18 national teams in Maggie Scannell and Emma Venusio respectively, along with Finley McCarthy.