Wisconsin
Marianne Picard completes comeback in time to help Wisconsin close out WCHA race
Wisconsin’s Marianne Picard details her comeback from a knee injury
The Badgers women’s hockey team received a boost Feb. 13-14 from Marianne Picard, who explains how she came back from a late-season knee injury.
MADISON – Marianne Picard has torn her ACL twice, so she knew this was trouble.
That is what the instincts and the body of the senior forward for the Wisconsin women’s hockey team told her after she took a hit during the first period against St. Thomas on Jan. 16.
She felt that pain before and the news associated with it was never good.
“Lots of tears,” she said. “When I first got [hurt], I thought it was my ACL for the third time and that’s like a year-long recovery. I thought I was done for, so I cried a lot.”
But then there was hope and then a comeback.
An MRI exam revealed Picard suffered a partial MCL tear, an injury that can heal in weeks not months. From that point, the only question was how quickly could she return to the lineup.
The answer turned out to be four weeks.
Picard was back on the ice for the Badgers’ series at Minnesota State on Feb 13-14 and starred in their sweep. On Friday the 13th she recorded her first goal of the season and got the primary assist on the game-winning goal of a 4-1 win. On Saturday she had another two-point night (one goal, one assist) in a 5-1 win over the Mavericks.
That was a four-point weekend for a player who entered the series with zero goals and 10 points this season.
The two-time national champion called her first game back one of the favorite moments of her college career.
“Oh my god, it was amazing, especially because I was so on the fence with should I medically retire or should I come back?” she said. “I’ve had two surgeries on the same knee and now I tore my MCL, so it was a tough decision, but I didn’t want my career to end with me being injured.”
Picard’s return was much needed. The Badgers, who are ranked No. 1 in the USCHO and USA Hockey polls, are without five of their top players due to the Olympics.
Her return gave Badgers coach Mark Johnson another option at center. Picard was part of the third line with wings Finley McCarthy and Charlotte Pieckenhagen.
The Minnesota State series marked the first time Johnson used that line combination. It immediately paid off as the three combined for two goals Saturday and one Friday.
Picard’s return gives the team another leader on the ice. In the wake of losing so many top players, Johnson reshaped his leadership group; Picard is an alternate captain.
She also provided some added juice. She was excited to get back on the ice and her energy showed.
“For somebody that looked like her career was over to somebody that gets an opportunity to play as quickly as she was able to do it, that brings energy because she’s excited,” Johnson said. “Not many people get that second opportunity. She got it and earned it.”
While Picard’s injury didn’t require surgery, it did necessitate a lot of work in the weight room to stabilize that area.
“It was really, really hard,” she said “I’m not going to lie. Those rehab lifts and rehab skates are harder than any game, any practice I’ve ever done. But I guess it paid off with [last] weekend.”
Wisconsin’s Picard, McCarthy explain importance of winning the WCHA
Wisconsin’s Marianne Picard and Finley McCarthy explain why they want to win the WCHA title with five players competing in the Olympics..
It could pay off this weekend, too.
Wisconsin (27-3-2, 21-3-2 – 66 points) enters the final two games of the regular season with a two-point lead over Ohio State in the WCHA standings. Barring an Ohio State loss to last-place Bemidji State, the Badgers will need to sweep fifth-place St. Cloud State on Feb. 21-22 to claim their second straight regular-season title.
It would be a significant accomplishment for a team that lost more than any other in the country to the Olympics.
“I think that’s why we want to win so bad,” Picard said. “We call each other the B-Squad. We kind of made it when the Olympians are not there, we’re the B-Squad, and we want to win for them. We don’t want all the work that they’ve done this season to just go to shreds because they’re gone.”
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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