2020–21 Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey season

The Wisconsin Badgers represented the University of Wisconsin in WCHA women's ice hockey during the 2020-21 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season. In the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game, the Badgers defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes by a 3–2 mark in overtime, as Lacey Eden scored the game-winning goal.^[1] Appearing in the 2021 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament versus the Northeastern Huskies, Daryl Watts scored the game-winning goal in a 2−1 overtime win.^[2]

2020–21 Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey season
WCHA Regular Season champions WCHA Final Faceoff champions NCAA Frozen Four champions, 2–1 (OT) vs. Northeastern
Conference	WCHA
Home ice	LaBahn Arena
Rankings
USCHO.com	1
Record
Overall	14–3–1
Home	5–1–0
Road	7–2–1
Neutral	3–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Mark Johnson (18th season)
Assistant coaches	Dan Koch Jackie Crum Mark Greenhalgh
Captain(s)	Grace Bowlby Brette Pettet Daryl Watts
Alternate captain(s)	Caitlin Schneider Britta Curl
Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 »

championship trophy

Offseason

• September 3: Mercyhurst Lakers goaltender Kennedy Blair has transferred to the Badgers.^[3]

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Notes
Jane Gervais	Goaltender	Canada	As a sophomore and junior, she led the Stanstead College Varsity Girls Hockey team to gold medals at the NAPHA Playoff Championships. As a senior, she posted 14 shutouts.
Casey O'Brien	Forward	United States	She skated for Team USA in 2018 and 2019 at the IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championships
Makenna Webster	Forward	United States	She led Team USA in scoring at the 2018 and 2019 IIHF U-18 World Championships. At the 2020 edition of the event, she was named an alternate captain and captured the gold medal.
Maddi Wheeler	Forward	Canada	She scored the gold medal-winning goal for Canada, in overtime, at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championships.
Mayson Toft	Defense	United States	As a high school varsity hockey player for Alexandria High School, she gained Defensive Player of the Year honors for four consecutive years.

^[4]

Regular season

Standings

2020–21 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference									Overall
	GP	W	L	T	SW	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#1 Wisconsin † *	16	12	3	1	0	36	62	25		21	17	3	1	79	33
#4 Minnesota Duluth	16	11	5	0	0	34	50	23		23	12	7	0	55	33
#3 Ohio State	16	11	5	0	0	32	42	32		20	13	7	0	56	42
#6 Minnesota	19	11	7	0	1	36	62	40		20	11	8	1	65	45
Minnesota State	20	7	12	1	0	20	38	56		20	7	12	1	38	56
St. Cloud State	19	6	12	1	0	18.5	32	62		19	6	12	1	32	62
Bemidji State	20	2	16	2	1	12.5	24	72		20	2	16	2	24	72
Championship: March 8, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com; updated March 25, 2021

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Decision	Result	Record [5]
Regular Season
November 27	at Ohio State	#1	Columbus, OH	Andrea Braendli	L 2–3	0–1–0 (0–1–0)
November 28	at Ohio State		Columbus, OH	Kennedy Blair	W 5–0	1–1–0 (1–1–0)
January 2	at MSU Mankato		Mankato	Kennedy Blair	W 3–2	2–1–0 (2–1–0)
January 3	at MSU Mankato		Mankato	Kennedy Blair	W 1–0	3–1–0 (3–1–0)
January 8	Ohio State		La Bahn Arena • Madison, WI	Kennedy Blair	W 2–1	4–1–0 (4–1–0)
January 9	Ohio State	#1	La Bahn Arena • Madison, WI	Andrea Braendli	L 1–2	4–2–0 (4–2–0)
January 15	Minnesota	#2	La Bahn Arena • Madison, WI	Kennedy Blair	W 5–0	5–2–0 (5–2–0)
January 16	Minnesota	#2	La Bahn Arena • Madison, WI	Kennedy Blair	W 6–3	6–2–0 (6–2–0)
January 22	at St. Cloud State	#1	St. Cloud, MN	Kennedy Blair	W 10–0	7–2–0 (7–2–0)
January 23	at St. Cloud State	#1	St. Cloud, MN	Kennedy Blair	W 4–2	8–2–0 (8–2–0)
February 5	at Minnesota	#4	Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Kennedy Blair	W 4–3	9–2–0 (9–2–0)
February 6	at Minnesota		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Kennedy Blair	T 2–2 OT	9–2–1 (9–2–1)
February 12	Bemidji State	#1	La Bahn Arena • Madison, WI	Kennedy Blair	W 4–0	10–2–1 (10–2–1)
February 13	Bemidji State	#1	La Bahn Arena • Madison, WI	Kennedy Blair	W 7–0	11–2–1 (11–2–1)
February 26	Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs		AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, MN	Emma Soderberg	L 2–4	11–3–1 (11–3–1)
February 27	Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs		AMSOIL Arena • Duluth, MN	Kennedy Blair	W 4–3	12–3–1 (12–3–1)
WCHA Frozen Faceoff
March 6	vs. Minnesota		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Kennedy Blair	W 5–3	13–3–1 (13–3–1)
March 7	vs. Minnesota		Ridder Arena • Minneapolis, MN	Kennedy Blair	W 3–2 OT	14–3–1 (14–3–1)
NCAA Tournament
March 16	vs. Providence		Erie Insurance Arena • Erie, PA	Kennedy Blair	W 3–0	15–3–1 (14–3–1)
March 18	vs. Ohio State		Erie Insurance Arena • Erie, PA	Kennedy Blair	W 4–2	16–3–1 (15–3–1)
March 20	vs. Northeastern		Erie Insurance Arena • Erie, PA	Kennedy Blair	W 2–1 OT	17–3–1 (15–3–1)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll.

Roster

2020–21 Badgers

^[6]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	DoB	Hometown	Previous team
1		Jane Grevais	Freshman	G	5' 8" (1.73 m)		Valcourt, Quebec	Stanstead College
2		Natalie Buchbinder	Senior	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)		Fairport, New York	Shattuck-St. Mary's
4		Teagan Grant	Sophomore	D	5' 6" (1.68 m)		New Liskeard, Ontario	Toronto Aeros
6		Lacey Eden	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)		Annapolis, Maryland	Shattuck St. Mary’s
7		Dara Greig	Sophomore	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)		Lethbridge, Alberta	Pursuit of Excellence
8		Mackenna Webster	Freshman	F	5' 2" (1.57 m)		St. Louis, Missouri	Shattuck St. Mary’s
9		Sophie Shirley	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)		Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Calgary Inferno (CWHL)
10		Delaney Drake	Senior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)		Traverse City, Michigan	North American Hockey Academy (JWHL)
15		Caitlin Schneider (A)	Senior	F	5' 4" (1.63 m)		Glenview, Illinois	Chicago Young Americans
16		Maddie Posick	Senior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)		Stoughton, Wisconsin	Madison Capitols
17		Britta Curl (A)	Sophomore	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)		Bismarck, North Dakota	Bismarck Blizzard
19		Daryl Watts (C)	Senior	F	5' 6" (1.68 m)		Toronto, Ontario	Boston College (WHEA)
20		Brette Pettet (C)	Senior	F	5' 3" (1.6 m)		Kentville, Nova Scotia	Team Canada U-18
27		Grace Bowlby (C)	Sophomore	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)		Edina, Minnesota	Team USA U-18
28		Maddi Wheeler	Freshman	F	5' 4" (1.63 m)		Erinsville, Ontario	Nepean Jr. Wildcats
30		Cami Kronish	Sophomore (RS)	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)		New York, New York	North American Hockey Academy (JWHL)
29		Kennedy Blair	Senior (RS)	G	5' 7" (1.7 m)		Bismarck, North Dakota	Mercyhurst Lakers (CHA)
32		Breanna Blesi	Junior (RS)	G	5' 7" (1.7 m)		Maple Grove, Minnesota	Maple Grove HS

Awards and honors

• Grace Bowlby, WCHA Defensive Player of the Month (February 2021)^[7]
• Grace Bowlby, WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (awarded on March 1, 2021)^[8]
• Grace Bowlby, 2020–21 All-USCHO.com Second Team^[9]
• Lacey Eden, Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Month for February^[10]
• Lacey Eden, WCHA Rookie of the Month (February 2021)
• Mark Johnston, WCHA Coach of the Year^[11]
• Daryl Watts, 2020–21 Preseason WCHA Player of the Year.
• Daryl Watts, WCHA Player of the Year^[12]
• Daryl Watts, WCHA scoring champion (31 points)
• Daryl Watts, 2020–21 All-USCHO.com First Team^[13]
• Makenna Webster, Most Outstanding Player, 2021 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament

All-America honors

• Grace Bowlby, 2020–21 CCM/AHCA First Team All-American^[14]
• Daryl Watts, CCM/AHCA 2020–21 First Team All-American^[14]

HCA Awards

• Daryl Watts, Hockey Commissioners Association Women's Player of the Month (March 2021):^[15]
• Makenna Webster, Hockey Commissioners Association Women's Rookie of the Month (March 2021)
• Lacey Eden, Hockey Commissioners Association Women's Rookie of the Month (February 2021) ^[16]

References

1. "Badgers claim WCHA Final Faceoff title". uwbadgers.com. March 7, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
2. "N.S. player captains Wisconsin to NCAA women's hockey title". cbc.ca. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
3. "Blair to join Badgers for 2020–21 season". uwbadgers.com. September 3, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
4. "Fab Five: Wisconsin to welcome five freshmen to 2020–21 squad – Johnson recruits top group of five new Badgers". uwbadgers.com. July 24, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
5. "2020–21 Women's Ice Hockey Schedule". Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
6. "2020–21 Women's Ice Hockey Roster". Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
7. "Wisconsin's Grace Bowlby And Lacey Eden, Minnesota's Grace Zumwinkle And Minnesota Duluth's Emma Söderberg Earn WCHA Player Of The Month Honors Presented By Sterling Trophy". wcha.com. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
8. "Bowlby named WCHA Defenseman of the Week". uwbadgers.com. March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
9. "Women's Division I College Hockey: 2020–2021 All-USCHO Teams". uscho.com. April 2, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
10. "Wisconsin's Lacey Eden Honored As National Rookie Of The Month". wcha.com. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
11. "Wisconsin's Grace Bowlby And Lacey Eden, Minnesota's Grace Zumwinkle And Minnesota Duluth's Emma Söderberg Earn WCHA Player Of The Month Honors Presented By Sterling Trophy". wcha.com. March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
12. "WCHA Announces 2020–21 Individual Awards". wcha.com. March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
13. "Women's Division I College Hockey: 2020–2021 All-USCHO Teams". uscho.com. April 2, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
14. "Five Hockey East Players Players Named CCM/AHCA Women's All-Americans – NCAA #1 seed Northeastern boasts four players on the two teams". hockeyeastonline.com. March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
15. "LINDBERG, TRIVIGNO AND FRANKEL RECEIVE HCA NATIONAL MONTHLY HONORS". hockeyeastonline.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
16. "Northeastern's Mueller, Frankel, Wisconsin's Eden tabbed HCA women's hockey award winners for February". uscho.com. March 3, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.