The Wisconsin Selects and Badger City battled in a three-game series last weekend for the right to advance to the Central District Tournament in March. Badger City won the series with a 3-2 overtime win game one and 2-1 nail-biter in game three. Wisconsin won game two, 5-0. In the three games series the total shots on goal were 76-75 in favor of Wisconsin, which also outscored Badger City in the series, 8-5. Momentum swings were a big factor in all three games.

“Eight of the nine periods were about as close as you get,” said Selects head coach Dan Bauer. “Two evenly matched teams, we needed a good bounce to start game three and it just never came. We had our chances.”

Badger City will now move on to the Central District Playoffs in March, and the Selects will have to wait and see if they can grab an at-large bid. Wisconsin actually moved up in the polls to fourth in the country with a 16-2-3 record, trailing three teams from the Minnesota Premier Prep League, while Badger City now sits at sixth with 20-6-2 mark.

Badger City 3  Wisconsin Selects 2 (OT)

It was the first meeting of the season between the two teams on Friday night at the new, not completely finished, Legacy20 Arena at the DeForest Yards Complex in DeForest. Two fast paced up and down the ice periods solved nothing as the teams remained scoreless with Badger City holding a 15-11 edge in shots.

A Selects turnover deep in their own zone led to the games first goal. Natalee Gesicki pounced on the loose puck and quickly fed Evelyn Bahe near the right circle. Bahe ‘s shot deflected off a Selects defenseman’s stick, changing direction and sneaking past goaltender Kennedy Kohlman. Wisconsin answered almost immediately, just thirty-three seconds later, when Kayla Dogs stepped into a pass from Ava Kligora and beat a screened Isabel Gunay over the glove, to tie the game at 1-1.

Anjali Ballweg got loose in front of the Selects net and tucked a shot under the crossbar at 6:58 to put Badger City back on top. With less than three minutes to play Badger City’s Riley Cowan went to the box for hooking. Wisconsin’s Marley Larson sent a low shot from the right wing on Gunay who made a pad save, but Baylie Schuh was in the perfect spot to bury the rebound and tie the game with 2:24 to play.

It took just eighteen seconds in the three-on-three overtime for Badger City to end it on a goal by Hailey Chady. Her shot from the right dot clipped a Selects stick, handcuffing Kohlman for the winning goal. “Kennedy played great for us all through the fall,” said Bauer. “Two of their goals were inadvertently redirected by our own sticks. She deserved a much better fate than that.” Following the game, Wisconsin learned that Kohlman had incurred a knee ligament sprain late in the game and would not be available for the rest of the weekend.

“It was a tough way to lose a game, and our first loss of the season,” Bauer noted. “Sometimes this game can be cruel, and you don’t always get the bounces you want or think you deserve. It truly is a game of inches.”

Wisconsin Selects 5  Badger City 0

Badger City opened game two looking like they were set to end the series. They stormed the Selects zone peppering goaltender Sierra Andert with sixteen first period shots. The senior from Somerset was perfect turning back everything Badger City had to offer. Thanks to Andert’s play the two teams went midway through period two in a scoreless tie. Wisconsin broke through at 8:51 after a great forechecking effort by Penny Loeffelholz in the offensive zone. Loeffelholz was drilled to the ice, and slowly made her way to the bench where Izzy Johnson jumped on and went straight to the net taking a nice feed from Rowan Smith, snapping it past Anika Mueller to put the Selects up 1-0 after two periods.

Period three was Wisconsin’s turn as the Selects hounded the Badger City net with sixteen shots and four goals. Colby Sprenger got it started by taking a nice indirect pass from Marley Larson and flying down the left wing where she fired a wrist shot past Mueller making it 2-0. Larson’s rebound goal at 8:29 made it 3-0 as Wisconsin followed with two more goals in a minute and nine seconds. Morgan Kivel pushed a pass from Loeffelholz through Mueller’s five-hole from the top of the crease for the fourth goal. Izzy Johnson completed the scoring when she stepped in front of a Badger City pass in the neutral zone and went in alone on Mueller, deking to her forehand for her second goal of the game. The goal with 7:20 to play ended Mueller’s night with Gunay finishing the game.

“The key to that game was the play of Sierra in the first period,” Bauer admitted. “She was locked in and made it look easy, great performance by her in a big game for us.”

Badger City 2  Wisconsin Selects 1

The series moved to Waunakee for the final game on Saturday night. While Bauer agreed it is the same for both teams, he questioned why they were playing three games in twenty-four hours. Originally the third game was scheduled for Sunday. The momentum from game two clearly seemed to be in Wisconsin’s favor throughout the first period. Liela Reed made two nice defensive plays for the Selects to thwart a pair of Badger City rushes. Both teams struggled to connect on scoring opportunities as the two teams skated to a third straight scoreless first period. Rowan Smith had a pair of chances in close for the Selects in the final minute of the period.

“I’m a big believer in the importance of scoring first,” said Bauer. “Both teams were worn down physically and emotionally, and I knew that first goal would create some valuable momentum.” Unfortunately for his Selects team it was Badger City that would strike first. With just over five minutes gone in period two Badger City executed a 2 on 1 and Julia Purintun flipped the puck past Andert for the all-important first goal. Purintun was a member of the Selects team that won the National Championship in 2024 but left to join Badger City the next season. “We didn’t sort out the rush and left their best player open,” said Bauer, “and she made us pay for it. Julia is a great kid, we were all sad to see her leave our program.”

Badger City did indeed take the game’s momentum and at 5:59 Avery Schwab made it 2-0. Wisconsin got a powerplay fifteen seconds later when Haley Chady was called for tripping. At the four-minute mark it appeared Wisconsin had scored when Reese Duncan scored from a net front scrum. However, after much deliberation the officials waived off the goal. “It was a huge call,” admitted Bauer, “but after watching the video I do believe they got it right.” Wisconsin headed to the third period trailing by two goals.

The score remained 2-0 as the game clock wound down period three. With 2:08 to play Wisconsin got another powerplay chance and pulled Andert to make it 6 on 4. The Selects were unable to create any quality scoring chances until Morgan Kivel made an end-to-end rush and shelved a wrist shot over Gunay’s shoulder with eight seconds remaining. “We looked tired at the end, didn’t have the level of effort and tenacity that earned us sixteen wins this season,” lamented Bauer. “Give Badger City credit, they found a way to get it done.”

Bauer was proud of the team, but knows the players’ focus now shifts to their high school season. “We had a great fall season, proud of what these girls accomplished and even more proud that they will go back and play for their high school teams this week. That is the underlying purpose of this team, Team Wisconsin and the WEHL. And despite its decline in popularity, I am still a big believer in loyalty.”

Wisconsin national tournament fate now rests with the USA Committee that awards at-large berths in March. It would appear that the Selects, who were the last Tier I or II team in the country to lose a game, have a good chance of being selected, but there is no guarantee. “We have twelve seniors, some who have been with us for multiple seasons,” Bauer said. “In my opinion they have earned a spot and if you want the best teams in the country there, we should be there!”

Photo Credit: Sonja Adams