After ringing in the new year with a sweep of Minnesota Duluth, the No. 2 Badgers take on No. 6 Bemidji State at the Sanford Center this weekend. Faceoff on Friday and Saturday in Bemidji, Minnesota, is set for 2 p.m.
Key notes to consider
• The Badgers are coming off of a sweep of Minnesota Duluth, as Wisconsin defeated the Bulldogs 5-1 on Friday before earning a 3-1 win on Sunday. Sarah Nurse scored three goals while adding an assist in the sweep, while Annie Pankowski had four points.
• Wisconsin leads the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 0.64 goals per contest. UW has shutout its opponents in 12 of its 22 games this year.
• Sophomore Annie Pankowski ranks seventh in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 1.64 points per contest. She had a 21-game point streak snapped at UND, which was the fifth-longest point streak in program history.
• Junior Ann-Renée Desbiens enters the weekend with a 18-1-1 record. Her 10 shutouts this season are tied for the NCAA lead and her 27 career blank slates are the sixth-most in NCAA history and third-most in program history. Desbiens needs only two more shutouts to move into fifth-place in NCAA history.
• Senior Courtney Burke ranks second in the country in defensemen scoring, averaging 1.05 points per game, while junior Jenny Ryan ranks third, averaging 1.00 points per contest.
• Junior Mellissa Channell helped the Canadian National Development Team win gold at Nations Cup in Germany as she tallied an assist in Canada's 4-3 overtime win over Finland in the championship contest
Number of the week
16 - After their 3-1 win on Sunday, the Badgers have won their last 16 games at LaBahn Arena, which is a program-best mark. Wisconsin's last loss at their barn came in Feb. 20, 2015 against St. Cloud State. Tough to beat at home, the team has a 55-10-3 record at LaBahn Arena.
The Series vs. Bemidji State
The Badgers lead the all-time series with BSU 61-5-3 and have won the last four battles with the Beavers.
UW leads the series in Bemidji State with a 26-1-2 record with the lone loss in Bemidji coming during the 2009-10 season.
The two teams met in the WCHA Final Faceoff title game last year as the Badgers blanked the Beavers, 4-0, to win the program's fifth WCHA playoff crown.
Wisconsin has shutout Bemidji State in the last three meetings between the two squads.
Outdoor Skate moved to Feb. 7Due to projected low temperatures on Sunday, the Wisconsin women's hockey team has rescheduled its outdoor team skate to Sunday, February 7. The skate will take place at Vilas Park from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Wisconsin athletic department in partnership with Madison Parks invites fans to skate with the Wisconsin women's hockey team at their fifth-annual skate, followed by a short program with representatives from the team and Madison Parks. Admission is free and all ages are welcome to attend. Skate rental is also available through Madison Parks for free.
Nurse honored as WCHA Offensive Player of the Week After a four-point weekend at home against Minnesota Duluth, Wisconsin women's hockey junior
Sarah Nurse has been named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Jan. 4-10, the league announced Tuesday.
Nurse earned the first weekly accolade of her career after scoring three goals while adding an assist during the team's sweep of Minnesota Duluth.
The Hamilton, Ontario, native notched two goals in Friday's 5-1 win over the Bulldogs, while adding an additional goal and the game-winning assist in Sunday's 3-1 series conclusion.
Nurse leads all Badgers and is tied for third nationally with four game-winning goals. She ranks second on the team with 24 points from 15 goals and nine assists, and ranks seventh in the nation for goals per game, averaging 0.83 goals per contest.
Cogan Named WCHA Rookie of the MonthWisconsin women's hockey freshman Sam Cogan was named the WCHA Rookie of the Month for December, the league announced on Wednesday.
It marks the third time that Cogan has been recognized by the conference, as she was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week on Nov. 3 and on Dec. 8.
Cogan scored and added an assist in UW's 3-2 overtime win over Minnesota on December 4, which ended an 18-game winless skid against the Golden Gophers. She tied the game in the second period before assisting on UW's second goal of the contest.
On the season, Cogan ranks third in the WCHA in rooking scoring and 16th nationally, averaging 0.70 points per game.Last time vs. Bemidji State: Wisconsin 4, Bemidji State 0 (Oct. 24, 2015)The No. 2/3 Wisconsin women's hockey team set a program record with its sixth-straight shutout as the Badgers blanked No. 6 Bemidji State, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon at LaBahn Arena.
Wisconsin's sixth-consecutive shutout marks a new program record and ties the 2012-13 Minnesota squad for the longest streak in WCHA history. The last time the Cardinal and White conceded a goal was on Oct. 3 in the first period of the Badgers' 8-1 win over Providence in San Jose, California and UW has held its opponents scoreless for the last 401 minutes, 45 seconds of play.
Junior Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped all 16 shots she faced to earn her NCAA-leading fifth shutout of the year.
After missing the previous two games, Wisconsin (8-0-0, 6-0-0-0 WCHA) junior
Sarah Nurse picked up right where she had left off, scoring early in the first period to give the Badgers the 1-0 lead on a shot from the circles that just trickled past Bemidji State (6-2-2, 3-2-1-0 WCHA) goaltender Brittni Mowat.
The Badgers scored again late in the first period, when
Baylee Wellhausen spotted the loose puck in the crease and knocked it home for the two-goal lead.
Bemidji State took a penalty right off the bat in the second period, giving the Badgers their first power play chance of the night.
Erika Sowchuk, uncovered in front of Mowat, was able to catch a loose rebound and put it away to propel the Badgers 3-0 over the Beavers.
After over 30 scoreless minutes, Sowchuk lit the lamp one last time for Wisconsin, redirecting
Maddie Rolfes's slapshot to put the game away late in the third period.
The Badgers outshot the Beavers 46-16, marking the fifth game this season the UW has registered 40 or more shots in a contest.
Last Time Out: Wisconsin 3, Minnesota Duluth 1 (Jan. 10, 2016)The No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team secured its 16th-consecutive home win, the longest streak in program history, trumping Minnesota Duluth 3-1 on Sunday in front of a sellout crowd at LaBahn Arena.
The Badgers extended their unbeaten streak against the Bulldogs to 14 games, the longest streak against an opponent, as sophomore
Annie Pankowski and juniors
Jenny Ryan and
Sarah Nurse each collected a goal and an assist in the win.
UW goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens collected 21 saves in the win, improving to 18-1-1 this season. She leads the country with a 0.71 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage.
Pankowski scored the only goal of the first period, skating into the slot and ripping the puck past Bulldog netminder Karissa Grapp for the 1-0 lead.
Wasting no time, Ryan and Nurse notched two goals in the first five minutes of play in the second period. Ryan snagged a pass from Nurse, one-timing a slapshot past Grapp for the two-goal lead on Wisconsin's first power play of the game.
Nurse collected her third goal of the weekend when she and freshman
Sophia Shaver had a two-on-one opportunity in the UMD zone. Shaver drew Grapp and a defenseman wide, then dished the puck to Nurse in front of a wide open net.
The Badgers outshot the Bulldogs 15-7 in the second period.
Minnesota Duluth would rally late in the third period, outshooting Wisconsin 9-8 in the final frame. A goal from UMD junior Sidney Morin came with just under five minutes left in regulation, but was too little, too late as the Bulldogs could not recover the two-goal deficit.
Channell Leads Canada to Gold at Nations CupWisconsin junior
Mellissa Channell helped Canada's National Women's Development Team win gold at the 2016 Nations Cup in Germany on Thursday.
Channell assisted on Canada's second goal in its 4-3 overtime win over Finland in the gold medal contest.
The junior defenseman appeared in all three contests at the Four Nations Cup for Team Canada and ended the tournament with one assist.
Last year Ann-Renée Desbiens and
Sarah Nurse helped Canada win the gold at the Nations Cup.
The Nations Cup, formerly known as the Air Canada Cup, MLP Cup and Meco Cup, brings together Canada's National Women's Development Team and national teams from Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.
Note of the Week
Senior Courtney Burke ranks third in points per game among defensemen, averaging 1.00 points per contest. Her 95 career points are the third-most in program history among defensemen. Burke is four points away from moving into 20th on the school's all-time scoring list and five points away from becoming the third blue-liner in school history to reach 100 career points.
The Quest for 400
Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson enters this weekend with a 378-71-35 record in his 13 years on the UW bench. His 378 wins are the fourth-most in NCAA Division I women's hockey history.
The other three coaches to reach 350 wins at the NCAA Division I level are Katey Stone (Harvard), Michael Sisti (Mercyhurst) and Shannon Miller (Minnesota Duluth).
Johnson only needs 8 wins to pass former UMD bench boss Shannon Miller for third on the all-time list.
