UW women out to slow down Colgate duo
Contain or keep up.
The fate of the Wisconsin women's hockey team could come down to one or the other when it faces Colgate in the regional final of the NCAA Tournament at 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+) at the Raiders' home, Class of 1965 Arena, in Hamilton, New York.
Will the Badgers be able to contain the nation's top scoring tandem, senior Danielle Serdachny and junior Kristyna Kaltounkova, or will they have to rely on their own deep, balanced attack to earn a spot in the Frozen Four, which will be played next week in Duluth, Minnesota.
UW showed a little of both in its 9-1 victory over Long Island in the opening round Thursday. The Badgers allowed just seven shots, while equaling a school record for goals in a postseason game and getting half of its skaters (10) a goal or an assist.
The contest Saturday will feature two of the nation's top scoring teams. It's just that they get to that point in different ways.
The edge Serdachny (70 points) and Kaltounkova (56) have for the title of the nation's top tandem is just one point over Minnesota's Taylor Heise (65) and Grace Zumwinkle (60). The two account for 28% of Colgate points his season.
In comparison, Wisconsin's top scorers, junior Casey O'Brien and Lacey Eden, account for 19% of the Badgers' goals and assists. Eleven UW players have scored at least 20 points, balance that was on display Thursday.
Wisconsin took control with a threegoal first period and finished the night with 59 shots, its third-highest total of the season. Seniors Jesse Compher and Britta Curl had four-point nights and seven other players had multi-point efforts.
The performance came on a night when UW coach Mark Johnson was also able to dig into his bench in anticipation of a high-energy affair Saturday.
"The entire third period we just rolled our four lines, nobody on our bench got extended minutes tonight,” he said. “It was a nice opportunity to play in the rink we're going to be playing in again on Saturday. Everybody got an opportunity to play, everybody had a smile on their face and again, you're just looking to get another game.”
Colgate earned a first-round bye. Serdachny comes into the contest fresh off four goals and five assists in five games of the ECAC tournament. Kaltounkova had two goals and six assists.
Both carry four-game scoring streaks into the regional final as Colgate attempts to reach the Frozen Four for the second time in school history. In its only appearance, 2018, the Raiders defeated Wisconsin in the semifinals, 4-3.
The Badgers, meanwhile, will be playing for their 14th berth in the national semifinal. They'll have to play an even cleaner game than they did Thursday to get there.
“Obviously in a 9-1 game you take a shift off or don't win your battle sometimes, but I think coming out on Saturday we know Colgate is a good team and we have to be ready to play a 60-minute game,” Compher said. “I think that is what is going to help us move on.”