Gophers goalie Skylar Vetter squared off with Wisconsin's Lacey Eden when the teams met on Dec. 9 at Ridder Arena. They'll meet again on Friday. (Anthony Souffle)

WCHA FINAL FACEOFF

Ridder Arena. All games streamed on B1G+ and televised on Fox 9+

Friday: No. 1 seed Ohio State vs. No. 4 Minnesota Duluth, 1 p.m.; No. 3 seed Gophers vs. No. 2 Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday: championship game, 2 p.m.

Gophers: The fifth-ranked Gophers (27-8-2, 19-7-2 WCHA) will need to iron out their inconsistencies to have a shot at defending their WCHA tournament crown. They needed three games to get past Minnesota State Mankato in last weekend’s first round and have struggled against the top teams in the conference, going 1-7 against Ohio State and Wisconsin. Minnesota split with the Badgers at Ridder Arena in December, with goaltender Lucy Morgan in net for the 5-3 victory. Leading scorer Abbey Murphy (59 points) has four goals and six assists during a five-game point streak and was named one of 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award.

Wisconsin: The No. 2-ranked Badgers (31-5, 23-5) split with Ohio State in the final weekend of the regular season, the only loss in their last 19 games. Their potent offense (5.22 goals per game) is headed by WCHA player of the year Kirsten Simms, who tops the NCAA scoring charts with 67 points. The Badgers outscored league opponents 124-43 and boast a solid defense led by sophomore Caroline Harvey, the WCHA’s defender of the year.

Ohio State: The nation’s top-ranked team rolls into the tournament with 18 victories in its past 19 games. The Buckeyes (31-3, 26-2) outscored Bemidji State 18-1 in last weekend’s first round, flexing their muscles at both ends of the rink. Ohio State leads Division I with 5.26 goals per game and features one of the country’s best goaltenders in Raygan Kirk, who has allowed just 18 goals in 19 games.

Minnesota Duluth: The No. 8 Bulldogs (20-12-4, 15-11-2) played lockdown defense in the first round of the playoffs, advancing with back-to-back shutouts of 10th-ranked St. Cloud State. They found rough going against the other Final Faceoff teams during the regular season, going 1-10-1 against the Gophers, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Sophomore goaltender Hailey MacLeod leads the nation in save percentage (.960); over her past five games, she is 4-0-1 with three shutouts and two goals allowed.

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about the writer

Rachel Blount

Reporter/Columnist

Rachel Blount is a sports reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune who covers a variety of topics, including the Olympics, Wild, college sports and horse racing. She has written extensively about Minnesota's Olympic athletes and has covered pro and college hockey since joining the staff in 1990.