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EspañolFeb. 26—BEMIDJI — On Jan. 24, the Bemidji State women's hockey team played its best game against No. 1 Wisconsin in more than a decade.
Still, the Beavers will need to find a little more in the tank this weekend.
BSU scored three times in the first period on the road in Labahn Arena. It was the first time it happened since Oct. 12, 2012, and just the fifth time in 114 games. However, Bemidji State lost that game 10-3, surrendering seven goals in the final two periods.
When the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's regular season concluded on Sunday afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin, the Badgers stood alone in first place with a league record of 23-3-2 (29-3-2 overall). It means the defending national champion and the top-ranked team in the country is set to host the Beavers (6-25-3, 3-24-1 WCHA) in a best-of-three playoff series this weekend.
"Your season prepares you for moments like that and for playoff hockey," BSU head coach Amber Fryklund said. "Anything can happen in playoff hockey. Our players, just in trusting their preparation and what we've done all season to prepare, it's about the compete mindset we have this weekend."
Wisconsin swept the season series against Bemidji State, winning the four games by scores of 9-2, 5-0, 10-3 and 6-1.
Fryklund noted that ending the regular season against second-ranked Ohio State at the Sanford Center was a good taste of what challenges the quarterfinals will bring, given the Badgers and the Buckeyes are two of the most — if not the most — talented teams in the nation.
"You have to play a pretty perfect game," Fryklund said. "You have to be really good defensively. You have to have good goaltending. Special teams will certainly play a factor in that, too. Then you have to capitalize on your opportunities offensively. I think we've grown in a lot of areas. Defensively, it continues to be an area we have to dial into. They have offensive players who can put the puck in the net."
For freshman forward Senja Leeper, her first season in the WCHA has come with some welcome-to-the-WCHA moments. She expects more of them in Madison for the 6:02 p.m. puck drop on Friday.
"They're a very talented group," Leeper said. "They have a lot of Olympians. It's definitely fun to play against them and just compete together against them as a team. We can prove ourselves. It's cool to play Olympians. Like, if you poke it away from (Caroline) Harvey, it's a big win — celebrate that and build on that. When you keep building and building on stuff like that, it's fun."
Wisconsin had five players make the trip to Milan, Italy, and four returned with gold medals. Harvey, Kirsten Simms, Laila Edwards and Ava McNaughton won Olympic gold for the U.S. for the first time since 2018. Freshman forward Adéla Šapovalivová also played for Czechia.
"It's just sticking to our keys — outworking them, making sure you put pressure on them, making contact, making sure they don't get time and space because they'll definitely take advantage of that," Leeper said.
Senior Day has come and gone, but the Beavers were still feeling the buzz from Raeley Carney's final goal at the Sanford Center on Saturday.
In a 6-3 loss against Ohio State, BSU's lone healthy senior scored her 11th career goal.
"Everybody on the bench was so happy for her," Leeper said. "We were just jumping up and down. She's a great leader and a really great person. Obviously, everybody is so excited."
Fryklund, who took over as head coach ahead of Carney's junior season, complimented her play in both games against the Buckeyes.
"Boy, she had a great weekend," Fryklund said. "As a senior and a captain who's been here for four years, it was really cool to see her just have her play this season. She's played really well this season. She's contributing on the ice, obviously as a leader, but also in so many different ways. To see her have a great senior weekend is pretty special."
Bemidji State also honored Heidi Strompf, who has been out of the lineup with a severe lower-body injury since Nov. 14. Strompf is out for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, effectively ending her collegiate career.
"Heidi was here just for the two years, but she left an impact on the program with just who she is and what she brings to this team," Fryklund said. "She's had some adversity this year with her injury that's kept her out, which isn't ideal in the last year of your eligibility.
"I'm really proud of her and how she's handled that. She shows up to the rink every day and is engaged. Everyone on our team has a role, and she just does everything in her power right now to have a role on our team."
A little over a year ago, Fryklund made her first trip to Finland for the IIHF
U18 Women's World Championships in Vantaa.
She served as an assistant coach in the Americans' campaign that resulted in a silver medal.
While she wasn't part of this iteration of a U.S. team, she felt proud when the Americans took home the women's hockey gold medal.
"It's special to win a gold medal, but just the support around women's hockey right now is really special," Fryklund said. "To see them come out with a gold medal, those players who play in our league every weekend, it's just special for them. It's a big win for women's hockey."
She also noted it's important for women's and girls hockey to capitalize on the momentum it gets during Olympic years.
"There were so many people, even from just the ones I know, who asked if I was watching that game — the general people who are not always watching women's hockey," Fryklund said. "I think you see that excitement around it every Olympic year. For me, growing up in 1998, the first year there was Olympic women's hockey and the buzz and growth that was created around that, when you fast-forward to today, I think you're going to see another growth from that excitement around women's hockey and that gold medal win.
"The exposure that the players have and the platforms they have to share their experiences, it's a special environment for women's and girls hockey right now."
Along with the four Wisconsin players on Team USA, three other WCHA schools were represented in red, white and blue. Ohio State's Joy Dunne and Minnesota's Abbey Murphey also won gold.
Minnesota State head coach Shari Dickerman served as an assistant coach for Team USA.
"Shari played in our league. She's a coach in our league. She was part of USA Hockey as a player," Fryklund said. "To see her on staff and the impact she's had on the game and girls and women's hockey in Minnesota, and on the national level with USA Hockey, it's certainly special for her and her program, but also for our league, too."