The fifth-ranked Minnesota Gophers (27-8-2) face a formidable opponent Friday afternoon in the WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena.

The Wisconsin Badgers (31-5-0), the No. 2 team in the country, have a high-octane offense that leads the WCHA with 188 goals, an average of 5.22 per game. And they keep the puck out of their own net at an impressive rate, with a goals-against average of 1.50.

“The camp roster for Team USA’s World (Championships) team just came out, and they have seven players on it,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said. “They have skill up and down their lineup.”

While a Gophers win would be considered an upset, they do enjoy a lofty standing in their own right. The Gophers are No. 5 in the Pairwise rankings, which mirror seeding for the NCAA tournament. A win over Wisconsin could put the Gophers in position to be one of four teams to host an NCAA regional.

“There are so many Pairwise indicators, and you plug in who wins and who loses,” Frost said. “That’s what coaches do — we get paid to worry. It’s something we obviously look at. For this team in particular, you always want to be at home. But if we’re on the road, we’re on the road.

“And we’ve had a lot of success away from Ridder Arena as well. So, for us, it’s more about wanting to have success in this tournament, to try to win the tournament. I think it’s the hardest tournament to win.

“Whoever wins it is definitely going to earn it. So, if we play well and we win a game or two and we move up because of that, great. But we certainly like the fact that we are in the NCAA tournament; it’s just a matter of where.”

The Badgers won three of the four meetings with the Gophers during the regular season. The Gophers’ victory came in the first meeting, a 5-3 win at Ridder on December 8.

“When they’ve beaten us they’ve scored four or five,” Frost said. “It’s going to be a tall task if we give up four or five. So much of it will be determined by us. If we get sloppy with the puck and turn pucks over in neutral ice, it’s going to be a long night.”

While the Gophers boast the nation’s leading goal scorer in Abbey Murphy with 33, the Badgers’ scoring depth runs much deeper. Kirsten Simms, who leads the nation in scoring, has 29 goals, followed by Lacey Eden with 26, Britta Curl with 21 and Cassie Hall and Casey O’Brien, each with 19.

“Wisconsin is a great team,” Gophers assistant captain Ella Huber said. “They’re a fast team. We’ve been working on their rushes, on all the people they bring into the zone. But relaxing, and knowing we can beat this team if we play together is really what is going to be getting us through it.”

Offensively, the Badgers excel at making the extra pass, and have made a habit this season of making defenders and goaltenders alike look bad when depositing the puck into an open net. It’s an aspect of the Badgers’ game that the Gophers have focused on in practice this week.

“Picking up people on the way back,” Frost said. “They’ll send four on the rush almost consistently. They have (Caroline) Harvey, the best D in the country, who is almost another forward for them.

“So the more time and space we give them, the worse off it is going to be. So, trying to force that puck carrier to make a decision before they want to, before they can see that open play on the back side. And our team’s awareness that we’re not laser-focused on the puck.”

A major challenge for the Gophers will be to not emphasize defense to the point of hampering their own ability to score.

“We’ll start with defense and keep it out of our net,” Huber said. “When we use each other, and the whole team is involved, that’s when we’re going at our best.”

Related Articles

Women’s hockey: Gophers close out MSU Mankato in WCHA quarterfinals

Women’s hockey: Josefin Bouveng scores five points, Gophers tie WCHA series with Mavericks

Women’s hockey: MSU Mankato scores 3 goals in third, shocks Gophers in Game 1 of WCHA playoff series

Women’s hockey: Gophers close regular season with sweep of Duluth

Gopher women earn extra point in shootout against Minnesota Duluth