The WCHA held its awards banquet Wednesday March 4 in St. Paul, Minn. and Olympic hero Caroline Harvey and coach Mark Johnson were big winners.
MADISON – Two of the Wisconsin women’s hockey program’s finest scored big wins Wednesday, March 4.
Maybe that’s an omen for the coming days.
Badgers senior captain Caroline Harvey was named the WCHA Player of the Year and Defender of the Year, while Mark Johnson claimed Coach of the Year distinction.
The two received their awards at the WCHA postseason awards banquet in St. Paul, Minn.
The event served as a kickoff for the WCHA Final Faceoff that begins Thursday. Top-ranked Wisconsin faces No. 4 seed Minnesota State at 4 p.m. at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena in St Paul. A victory sets up a matchup with second-ranked Ohio State or fourth-ranked Minnesota at 2 p.m. Saturday March 7.
Wins in those two games will give the Badgers their third straight Final Faceoff title.
Caroline Harvey honored for third straight year
Harvey’s defender of the year award was her third straight, while this marks the second straight year a Badger was named player of the year (Casey O’Brien).
Harvey missed eight games while helping Team USA win the gold medal. Despite missing those games she is the top scoring defender in the nation with 58 points and ranks fourth overall.
In her first series back from the Olympics, she posted four-point weekend in a sweep of Bemidji State in a WCHA first-round playoff series. She is six points away from breaking UW’s single-season scoring record for a defender that she set last season..
Mark Johnson wins 11th coach of the year award
While Johnson has won the coach of the year award many times before, this was the first time he had to navigate a season when so many of his players were gone for an extensive period.
A change in the selection process for the Olympics meant that the college players selected would miss the final month of the regular season. With five Olympians, including four who suited up Team USA, Wisconsin was hit hard with key absences.
Still the Badgers split series with Ohio State and Minnesota and clinched the regular season title on the final day of the regular season.
Badgers well represented on all-WCHA team
Senior forward Lacey Eden and junior goaltender Ava McNaughton were one of three finalists for the forward and goaltender of the year.
They were two of seven all-WCHA first teamers for Wisconsin.
First team: Eden, Harvey.
Second team: Senior wing/defender Laila Edwards, McNaughton and senior wing Kirsten Simms.
Third team: Junior center Cassie Hall, senior defender Vivian Jungels.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's Caroline Harvey, Mark Johnson win top WCHA honors
Category: General Sports
