Badgers Women's hockey 2024-25

[Voyageur]

Amazing game today (10/19/24). The Badger women were down 3-1 in the 3rd period. The Gopher women scored 3 goals on them, and had them on the ropes. But, like all of Mark Johnson's teams, you'd better not go to sleep on them because they're not going to skate away and accept getting whipped, without a fight.

The Badgers scored 3 times in the period, taking the lead with a little over 6 minutes left to play, then held off the desperate charge of the Gophers. Nice win for Bucky, 4-3. It looks even better, since it was a sweep against the #3 team in the nation. The Badgers won Friday night 5-0.

Here's an interesting fact. Six of the top seven women scoring in the US are Wisconsin players. One player, from Minnesota, in the middle.

There's a good reason the Badger women are ranked #1 in the nation. They can play hockey!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

You read my mind, I was going to start a thread about this team.

I watched the game on Saturday as well. When the Badgers went down 3 zip in the second, I thought "Oh great, I tune in and they lose their first game." Given that they had spanked the Gophers the night before (5-0) and they were undefeated, I wasn't going to give up watching the game. I am glad I didn't.

As soon a Leila Edwards scored the Badgers first goal on a PP, I knew "game on". You could see the change in momentum and energy.

The announcers brought up that going into the weekend that the Badgers were averaging 7+ goals a game and I believe the Gophers coach comment was "They score over a touchdown a game".

This could be another special Mark Johnson coached Team. They have 4 solid lines, filled with some real stars. I believe their 4th line is all freshman and they aren't just playing when the game is out of hand. They are playing, scoring and playing better than most teams 3rd lines. That will go a long way as the long season wears on.

I would love to see an undefeated season for the Badgers, but that is highly unlikely, when you factor in the length of the season (40+ games). That said, I think if they stay healthy, this could end really well for them.

 

[Voyageur]

Wow! The Badgers are now 10-0. They've outscored their opponents 65 to 9 over those ten games. Totally amazing!

I wonder if Mark can take them to another NCAA Championships. They're going to be tough to derail. Giving up less than 1 goal a game? I don't recall any women's team being this good in the past.

I'm quite happy that Mark hasn't considered leaving the Badgers for a coaching job in the NHL, or for a men's program. What he's done with the ladies is inspiring. He's sure a "chip off the old block" of his Dad, who knew how to get the best out of his players on the ice as well.

It's great that both Women's hockey, and volleyball are carrying the banner of Badger sports at the highest level. Thanks to Kelly and Mark. Great programs, and the AD deserves credit for giving them the support they need to make them the envy of NCAA women's sports.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Wow! The Badgers are now 10-0. They've outscored their opponents 65 to 9 over those ten games. Totally amazing!

I wonder if Mark can take them to another NCAA Championships. They're going to be tough to derail. Giving up less than 1 goal a game? I don't recall any women's team being this good in the past.

I'm quite happy that Mark hasn't considered leaving the Badgers for a coaching job in the NHL, or for a men's program. What he's done with the ladies is inspiring. He's sure a "chip off the old block" of his Dad, who knew how to get the best out of his players on the ice as well.

It's great that both Women's hockey, and volleyball are carrying the banner of Badger sports at the highest level. Thanks to Kelly and Mark. Great programs, and the AD deserves credit for giving them the support they need to make them the envy of NCAA women's sports.

Yeah, the only place Mark goes from here is retirement. He loves the Women's program. I think he was offered the Men's job and decided that he had found the place that he wanted to be.

I've watched this seasons team play several times now, I think it is one of their better teams in awhile. They are solid from top to bottom on their roster. They always have a few big names on the roster, but this one is consistently talented. They are still averaging a blistering 6.5 goals per game.

Ava McNaughton is really a solid goalie. At 6' tall, she's intimidating too and only a Sophomore.

Now the really GOOD news, this isn't a senior laden team. They have only 3 players that I think will be out of eligibility after this season. With only 2 of those being big contributors; Casey O'Brien and Katie Kotlowski.

Their next series is at #7 St. Cloud, tonight and tomorrow. They can't look past the Huskies and to their next match (after a bye week) with the 2nd best team (I think) in the Country, Ohio State.

Fun season ahead, strap yourselves in!

 

[Voyageur]

Yeah, the only place Mark goes from here is retirement. He loves the Women's program. I think he was offered the Men's job and decided that he had found the place that he wanted to be.

I've watched this seasons team play several times now, I think it is one of their better teams in awhile. They are solid from top to bottom on their roster. They always have a few big names on the roster, but this one is consistently talented. They are still averaging a blistering 6.5 goals per game.

Ava McNaughton is really a solid goalie. At 6' tall, she's intimidating too and only a Sophomore.

Now the really GOOD news, this isn't a senior laden team. They have only 3 players that I think will be out of eligibility after this season. With only 2 of those being big contributors; Casey O'Brien and Katie Kotlowski.

Their next series is at #7 St. Cloud, tonight and tomorrow. They can't look past the Huskies and to their next match (after a bye week) with the 2nd best team (I think) in the Country, Ohio State.

Fun season ahead, strap yourselves in!

It is amazing how they keep building in a team with players who aren't graduating. Always someone there to step up when it's their turn. It's a real complement to recruiting. They fill their needs, and have a rebuilding program in place even while they're doign well, during a season. McNaughton is tough in goal. She flat refuses to give up anything.

I think you're right on Mark. He's happy where he's at. Money no longer matters to him, family honor, and respect of the program does. The family legacy is what drives him more than anything, except his constant low key approach to working towards excellence.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

It is amazing how they keep building in a team with players who aren't graduating. Always someone there to step up when it's their turn. It's a real complement to recruiting. They fill their needs, and have a rebuilding program in place even while they're doign well, during a season. McNaughton is tough in goal. She flat refuses to give up anything.

I think you're right on Mark. He's happy where he's at. Money no longer matters to him, family honor, and respect of the program does. The family legacy is what drives him more than anything, except his constant low key approach to working towards excellence.

Yeah, Mark and his family have been Madisonian's for most of their life. Mark and I graduated from the same High School (not at the same time) and I had the pleasure of golfing with his Dad, Badger Bob a few times. My Dad and his Dad were buddies.

I think what the Badgers have in Women's Hockey and to an extent with the Volleyball program, is being elite every year helps. Along with great coaching, it keeps the recruiting efforts targeted at and landing the best. I am sure this is how Ohio State fans feel about their football team.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Another sweep for the 12 and 0 Badgers! 10 goals scored, zero given up.

Yesterday's game was almost over 3 minutes and 6 seconds into the game. The Badgers scored 3 goals before people probably found their seats.

Goal by Jungles: 32 seconds into the game.
Goal by Hall: 1 minute and 16 seconds into the game
Goal by Edwards: 3 minutes 6 seconds into the game

The Huskies pulled their starting goalie after that 3rd goal. As PB (Paul Braun) said, it was the fastest he had ever seen a goalie pulled.

Man, they are GOOD!

 

[Voyageur]

Another sweep for the 12 and 0 Badgers! 10 goals scored, zero given up.

Yesterday's game was almost over 3 minutes and 6 seconds into the game. The Badgers scored 3 goals before people probably found their seats.

Goal by Jungles: 32 seconds into the game.
Goal by Hall: 1 minute and 16 seconds into the game
Goal by Edwards: 3 minutes 6 seconds into the game

The Huskies pulled their starting goalie after that 3rd goal. As PB (Paul Braun) said, it was the fastest he had ever seen a goalie pulled.

Man, they are GOOD!

That's an amazing start to a game. Their game is constant pressure on the opponent. The puck is not allowed to stay on the Badgers side of the blue line. They're constantly moving it out to center ice, and taking command.

I'm not going to get too excited yet, because it's still too early, but this may well be the best, or at least one of the best, teams the Badgers ever had. What makes me smile is that only 5 ladies will be leaving the program after this year. The nucleus for next year is already in house. They can recruit some solid incoming new players who can get ice time because of how well this team scores.

Gotta be excited.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Bucky clinches the WCHA Title today with a complete and dominating throttling of The Golden Chokers, 8-2! Tied their old record of biggest margin of victory over Minnesota.

This team is just so talented. They continue to trot out a 4th line....of all freshman! Heck, most teams don't have a very good 3rd line!

They play again tomorrow at Noon. Tune
-in and treat yourself to some fun hockey.

 

[Voyageur]

Bucky clinches the WCHA Title today with a complete and dominating throttling of The Golden Chokers, 8-2! Tied their old record of biggest margin of victory over Minnesota.

This team is just so talented. They continue to trot out a 4th line....of all freshman! Heck, most teams don't have a very good 3rd line!

They play again tomorrow at Noon. Tune
-in and treat yourself to some fun hockey.

Johnson has done an amazing job over the years. The guy can motivate players. I hope he doesn't decide to hang up his skates too soon. I think they could be something special now for at least the next 3 years. Imagine a three-peat for the national title. Wouldn't that be an amazing feat!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Another dominating performance today against the #3 team in the Country. Bucky gets next weekend off and will finish the regular season with 2 games at Bemidji State against the Beavers. A nice rest and tune-up before the WCHA Championship series, to be followed by pursuing another National Title!

This Wisconsin team (29-1-2, 22-1-2 WCHA) has positioned itself to be remembered as perhaps the best team in program history. If this weekend is any indication of just how good the Badgers are, I think that's a strong possibility, especially if they go undefeated the rest of this season.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Pretty impressive. The Badgers have 5 players in the top 10 when it comes to average points per game.

I do believe that Casey O'Brien has pretty much sewed up the Patty Kazmaier Award this season. It also won't shock me to see Edwards and Simms in the finalists list.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

 

[Voyageur]

Pretty impressive. The Badgers have 5 players in the top 10 when it comes to average points per game.

I do believe that Casey O'Brien has pretty much sewed up the Patty Kazmaier Award this season. It also won't shock me to see Edwards and Simms in the finalists list.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

That's team scoring.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Interesting weekend for Bucky. As of 2 weeks ago, The Badgers locked themselves into the #1 seed of the WCHA Tourney and The Bemidji State Beavers had also locked themselves into the 8th seed. Which means they will face each other in the first round of the Tourney. Well, they are also facing each other in the final series of the season this weekend. So that is at least 4 games in a row playing one another.

Yesterday, at the Beavers home ice, Bucky cruised to a 6-1 win. They play again today and then will face off in Madison on Friday Night in Madison. I expect the Badgers to cruise the next 3 games and head into Duluth for the WCHA Final Face Off heavily favored to bring the Cup home. Just another step towards winning their 8th National Championship and possibly one of the best seasons in history of Badger Hockey.

 

[Voyageur]

Interesting weekend for Bucky. As of 2 weeks ago, The Badgers locked themselves into the #1 seed of the WCHA Tourney and The Bemidji State Beavers had also locked themselves into the 8th seed. Which means they will face each other in the first round of the Tourney. Well, they are also facing each other in the final series of the season this weekend. So that is at least 4 games in a row playing one another.

Yesterday, at the Beavers home ice, Bucky cruised to a 6-1 win. They play again today and then will face off in Madison on Friday Night in Madison. I expect the Badgers to cruise the next 3 games and head into Duluth for the WCHA Final Face Off heavily favored to bring the Cup home. Just another step towards winning their 8th National Championship and possibly one of the best seasons in history of Badger Hockey.

Bringing glory to Wisconsin ice. The legacy of excellence continues. Mark Johnson has to be the best women's college hockey coach in the business, and his legacy is so much like his dad's. He gives these young ladies a chance to shine and they never disappoint. What a tremendous season. A national championship would be the icing on the cake.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Bringing glory to Wisconsin ice. The legacy of excellence continues. Mark Johnson has to be the best women's college hockey coach in the business, and his legacy is so much like his dad's. He gives these young ladies a chance to shine and they never disappoint. What a tremendous season. A national championship would be the icing on the cake.

Agree. Mark Johnson is somewhat of a rare commodity. He has had great success as both a player and as a coach, all within the same organization (set aside his professional playing career). His accomplishments as a player are a fun read on their own. However, his accomplishments as a coach are just as impressive in my opinion. Even more impressive is the path he chose to become the successful Women's coach that he is today.

I remember when Jeff Sauer was ready to retire from coaching the men's program back in 2002. Sauer took over the reigns from Mark's dad Bob Johnson in 1982. Sauer had been Bob's assistant for several years (1966-71), before becoming the HC at Colorado College (1971-82). Sauer had a pretty successful 20 years as the Badgers HC. When it was time for him to leave, I think a lot of people figured it was Mark Johnson's turn to take over the job. He had been Sauer's assistant since 1996 and it all made sense for him to take over the program that his dad had put on the National Map. However, the Badgers passed on Mark (he did apply for the job) and chose Mark's former teammate Mike Eaves instead. Another story there, but I think that was a huge mistake for the Men's program and they haven't recovered since.

So not getting the men's coaching job put Mark on a completely different path. He applied for and became the HC of the Women's Hockey program. A program that went from being a club to a full fledged "team" in 1999. Their first 3 years in the WCHA they were good, but always getting beat by the much better Minnesota teams. It took only a few years for Mark to establish himself as an elite Women's hockey coach, that a lot of Women wanted to play for. By 2004 and beyond, it has been almost nothing but success for him and the Women's program.

Mark Johnson was the first and only Badger Hockey player to have his number (#10) retired in 2019. I attended that game, it was quite a warm feeling and a much deserved honor for Mark. I hope that one day they will honor him with a statue (as maybe a player and coach) in front of the LeBahn Arena. Even better, rename the arena, which was the 2nd one built specifically for a Women's hockey program, "The Johnson-LeBahn Arena".

One thing you know for sure, when a Johnson is involved:

"It's A Great Day For Hockey"

 

[Voyageur]

Agree. Mark Johnson is somewhat of a rare commodity. He has had great success as both a player and as a coach, all within the same organization (set aside his professional playing career). His accomplishments as a player are a fun read on their own. However, his accomplishments as a coach are just as impressive in my opinion. Even more impressive is the path he chose to become the successful Women's coach that he is today.

I remember when Jeff Sauer was ready to retire from coaching the men's program back in 2002. Sauer took over the reigns from Mark's dad Bob Johnson in 1982. Sauer had been Bob's assistant for several years (1966-71), before becoming the HC at Colorado College (1971-82). Sauer had a pretty successful 20 years as the Badgers HC. When it was time for him to leave, I think a lot of people figured it was Mark Johnson's turn to take over the job. He had been Sauer's assistant since 1996 and it all made sense for him to take over the program that his dad had put on the National Map. However, the Badgers passed on Mark (he did apply for the job) and chose Mark's former teammate Mike Eaves instead. Another story there, but I think that was a huge mistake for the Men's program and they haven't recovered since.

So not getting the men's coaching job put Mark on a completely different path. He applied for and became the HC of the Women's Hockey program. A program that went from being a club to a full fledged "team" in 1999. Their first 3 years in the WCHA they were good, but always getting beat by the much better Minnesota teams. It took only a few years for Mark to establish himself as an elite Women's hockey coach, that a lot of Women wanted to play for. By 2004 and beyond, it has been almost nothing but success for him and the Women's program.

Mark Johnson was the first and only Badger Hockey player to have his number (#10) retired in 2019. I attended that game, it was quite a warm feeling and a much deserved honor for Mark. I hope that one day they will honor him with a statue (as maybe a player and coach) in front of the LeBahn Arena. Even better, rename the arena, which was the 2nd one built specifically for a Women's hockey program, "The Johnson-LeBahn Arena".

One thing you know for sure, when a Johnson is involved:

"It's A Great Day For Hockey"

I can't help but believe that had he been given the men's coaching job over Eaves, the Badgers men's program would be having more success by far than they are now. It might not be quite at the level of the women but it would be good enough to make them a Final 4 contender on most years. He's that good in finding the niche for players on the ice, and having them utilize that talent to the best of their ability.

I keep hearing how he's an offensive wizard. I disagree. I think Mark's forte is to create a stifling defense that forces the opposition to throw a defender into their offense to have a chance at scoring. Because of this, the Badgers offense can create more offensive opportunities because he always recruits skaters with speed who can transition from defense to offense in a heartbeat and get those mismatches that creates offensive opportunities. He also knows how to develop goalies as well as anyone I've ever seen. He just plain knows the game and how to get the best out of his players.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I can't help but believe that had he been given the men's coaching job over Eaves, the Badgers men's program would be having more success by far than they are now.

I've often wondered that, but to be honest, I think Mark is more suited in coaching the women's team. Everything I know and have heard about Mark is that he is a super positive guy, always smiling, always looking for the good in things and stresses that his players should always "have fun out there". He's known as a great teacher and a guy that has every players back. Not saying that he wouldn't have been successful in the Men's program, but if you have ever known a male hockey player, they can be brash and a bit full of themselves. Not saying that all of them are like that, but I doubt Mark has to deal with that issue as much while coaching the Women's team.

Another win for the Badgers today, same score as yesterday, 6-1. Thus, the Badgers end the regular season with an impressive record of 31-1-2. Just another consistent outing (after the 1st period) for the Badgers. Junior Kirsten Simms had a hat trick and the Badgers kept the puck in the Beavers end of the ice most of the day. Mark gave starting Sophomore goalie Ava McNaughton the day off, which gave Senior Quinn Kuntz some valuable ice time between the pipes. I fully expect McNaughton to play out the rest of the season, but always good to give your backup some reps. 31-1-2