Wisconsin
Wisconsin women’s hockey shakes off rust, wears down Merrimack to open the new year
MADISON – Playing its first game since Dec. 9, it took the Wisconsin women’s hockey team some time to shake off the rust.
But during the second half of the Badgers’ game with Merrimack Friday night, the team was well on its way to regaining its form.
Third-ranked UW (15-4) scored five goals during the final 30 minutes and recorded a 6-1 victory over the Warriors in front of a crowd of 2,273 at La Bahn Arena.
Junior Lacey Eden (two goals, one assists) and senior Katie Kotlowski (three assists) recorded three-point nights and sophomore Laila Edwards scored twice for the Badgers. Freshman Cassie Hall (one goal, one assist), senior Britta Curl (one goal, one assists) and senior Casey O’Brien (two assists) also had two-point nights for UW.
BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 6, Merrimack 1
Perhaps the most important of those scores was Eden’s, which came 12 seconds after Merrimack took a 1-0 lead in the first period.
“It just shows how our team handles adversity when we get scored on,” she said. “We don’t hold over, we go right back at it the next shift. To get that one really changed the momentum of the game right away.”
Edwards added the game-winner at the 13:09 mark of the second period off passes from Kotlowski and O’Brien. Curl added insurance with a score at the 17:54 mark of that period.
UW punctuated the night with goals by Eden, Hall and Edwards during the final 4 minutes.
“I was super excited to get back going with the team,” Edwards said. “I’ve missed playing with them. It’s been almost a month. I think we’re excited to get this second half of the year going and hopefully get that national championship at the end, but it all starts here in these games and what we work on to get better.”
Wisconsin didn’t put up a lot of goals until the last few minutes, but its defense steadily improved. UW allowed just nine shots during the final two periods. Junior goaltender Jane Gervais had 17 saves.
It was a much-needed evening on the ice for a team that returns to WCHA play next week.
“We were practicing well, but it’s tough to simulate game competition,” Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said. “The first period was shaking the cobwebs out, getting back into the swing of things. … We needed to get our legs back, the timing down, and eventually as the game wore on that’s what happened.”
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin
Vote: Who is Wisconsin High School Boys Basketball’s Top Guard of 2025-26?
With the action-packed Wisconsin high school boys basketball regular season completed and March Madness beginning, it’s time to take a look at some of the outstanding players and cast your vote for the best.
We began by looking at the most prolific individual scoring threats, talented 3-point shooters,strong rebounders, and top free-throw shooters so now it’s time to take a look at the high-caliber guards from throughout the state.
There are hundreds of high-caliber boys basketball players in Wisconsin, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive.
Voting remains open until March 9 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
(Players are listed in alphabetical order and all nominees are leaders from the 2025-26 season as compiled by Bound.com, and WIAA; the poll is below the list of athletes)
Castillo is averaging 25.4 points per game with 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals for Greendale (18-6 overall record).
Collien is averaging 15 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists for Oakfield (21-3 overall record).
Edwards is averaging 14.1 points per game with 7.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists for D.C. Everest (21-3 overall record).
Gray Jr. was averaging 24.3 points per game with 6.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.1 steals prior for West Allis Central (22-2 overall record).
Hereford is averaging 36.4 points per game with 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.1 steals for Beloit Memorial (22-2 overall record).
Johnson is averaging 27.3 points per game with 8.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.6 steals for Milwaukee Juneau (22-1 overall record).
Jones is averaging 23.3 points per game with 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 steals for Germantown (15-9 overall record).
Kern is averaging 16 points per game with 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists for New Berlin West (21-3 overall record).
Kilgore is averaging 14.6 points per game with 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 3.0 steals for Kewaunee (24-0 overall record).
Kohnen is averaging 16.3 points per game with 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals for Slinger (20-4 overall record).
Knueppel is averaging 17.4 points per game with 7.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.4 steals for Wisconsin Lutheran (24-0 overall record).
Loose is averaging 18.2 points per game with 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.3 steals for Port Washington (23-1 overall).
Manchester is averaging 35.8 points per game for Mount Horeb (19-5 overall record).
Platz is averaging 19.5 points per game with 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and 1.4 steals for Brookfield East (19-5 overall record).
Prochnow is averaging 21.3 points per game with 11.1 assists, 4.8 assists, and 3.2 steals for Reedsville (21-3 overall record).
Resch is averaging 21.3 points per game with 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals for Arrowhead (18-6 overall record).
Schultz is averaging 27.4 points per game with 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.0 steals for Plymouth (17-7 overall record).
Schwalbach is averaging 15 points per game with 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals for Kaukauna (21-3 overall).
Sweeney is averaging 15.5 points per game for Appleton North (20-4 overall record).
Vandenberg is averaging 13 points per game with 2.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds for Freedom (23-1 overall).
About Our Player Poll Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
— Jeff Hagenau | jeffreyhagenau@gmail.com
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