The Eagles and Badgers have faced each other only twice in their respective histories. Interestingly enough, all three matchups, including this year, have come in the NCAA semifinals, with Wisconsin #1 in the country and BC #4.
Each of the first two meetings saw Wisconsin come away with the win. Let’s take a quick look back at those games.
2011 Frozen Four: Erie, PA
#1 Wisconsin (35-2-2)
vs. #4 Boston College (24-6-6)
The first ever meeting between the Eagles and Badgers was a thriller — and it probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was.
Wisconsin outshot BC 46-25 in the game and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. That should have been that, but BC somehow hung around. A power play goal from Blake Bolden in the second period put BC back in the game, and the Eagles found a miraculous game-tying goal in the third.
And for a brief moment, it looked like the Eagles were going to complete the comeback. With a minute to play, BC’s Danielle Welch broke in all along on a breakaway. She rifled a laser and beat Alex Rigsby... only to ring the post with the shot. The Badgers collected the puck, broke out on a counterattack, and scored with 48 seconds left in the game to win the game and end BC’s season.
2012 Frozen Four: Duluth, MN
#1 Wisconsin (32-4-2)
vs. #4 Boston College (24-9-3)
The following year was a rematch of #4 vs. #1, and the game couldn’t have been more different from 2011. The Eagles actually jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead less than one minute into the game... and then things fell totally apart.
First, the Badgers tied the game quickly after to make it a new game. Then, a few minutes later, Wisconsin’s Brianna Decker took a penalty to put the Eagles on the man advantage. Instead of giving BC a boost, the Badgers scored shorthanded to take the lead heading into the intermission.
Wisconsin added two more in the second period to put the game out of reach for the Eagles, adding another pair in the third period (along with a garbage time goal from BC) to take the 6-2 win. Outside from the opening few minutes of the first period, the game was never close.
This was the last time BC faced Wisconsin, and interestingly, that year’s quarterfinal was also the last time BC faced St. Lawrence in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully we don’t see history repeat itself.
The puck drops on Round 3 of Wisconsin vs. Boston College Friday at 6pm ET.