No. 2 Badgers open 2016 with home series vs. UMD

The No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team opens 2016 with a home series against WCHA-rival Minnesota Duluth. Faceoff on Friday is set for 2 p.m. while Sunday's contest, which airs on the Wisconsin Channel, begins at noon.

Key notes to consider
• UW suffered its first loss and tie of the season during its final series of 2015 at North Dakota. UW was blanked 3-0 on Dec. 11 before earning a 0-0 tie on Dec. 12. UW prevailed in its first shootout of the year on Dec. 12 thanks to shootout strikes from Annie Pankowski and Sydney McKibbon.

• Wisconsin leads the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 0.60 goals per contest. UW has shutout its opponents in 12 of its 20 games this year.

• Sophomore Annie Pankowski ranks ninth in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 1.60 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 16-1-1 record. Her 10 shutouts this season lead the NCAA 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.

• Junior Jenny Ryan and senior Courtney Burke are tied for second in defensemen scoring, averaging 1.05 points per contest.

• The Badgers enter this weekend with a 14-game home winning streak, the second-longest streak in school history. A win on Friday against Minnesota Duluth would match UW's longest home winning streak of 15 games that lasted from Nov. 25, 2006 to Oct. 13, 2007.

No. 2 Wisconsin (18-1-1) vs. Minnesota Duluth (9-10-1)
Date	Friday, Jan. 8 \| 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10 \| 12 p.m.
Location	Madison, Wisconsin \| LaBahn Arena
Radio	Friday - WSUM Sunday - The Mic 92.1 FM
Video	Friday Video \| Sunday Video
Stats	Stats
Live Coverage	Friday Blog \| Sunday Blog
Twitter	@BadgerWHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin \| Minnesota Duluth

Number of the week
23 - The Badgers have skated against UMD in 23 overtime periods, the most against any team Wisconsin plays, and have accumulated an overtime record of 6-3-14 against the Bulldogs. Additionally, the teams have gone into 6 shootout decisions (3-3).

The Series vs. Minnesota Duluth

The Badgers lead the all-time series with UMD 36-29-12 and enter the weekend with a 12-game unbeaten streak against the Bulldogs.

UW is 15-11-7 against Minnesota Duluth in Madison and has not lost to UMD at home since Nov. 28, 2010.

The two programs have combined to win eight NCAA titles.

Earlier this year, the Badgers swept the Bulldogs in Duluth, defeating UMD 3-0 on Nov. 13 before earning a 4-2 win on Nov. 14.

Last time vs. Minnesota Duluth: Wisconsin 4, Minnesota Duluth 2 (Nov. 14, 2015)
Despite giving up its first goal in over a month, the top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team improved to 12-0-0 for the first time in program history with a 4-2 win over Minnesota Duluth at AMSOIL Arena on Saturday.

Wisconsin saw its historic run of shutout hockey end in the third period, as the Badgers entered Saturday's game with nine-straight shutouts, an NCAA Division I record. The Badgers went 624 minutes, 18 seconds between giving up a power-play goal on Oct. 3 in an 8-1 win over Providence and a goal three minutes into the third period Saturday.

During the shutout streak, junior goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens shut out the opposition for 543:53, almost 100 minutes more than the old NCAA record of 448:32 that UW legend Jessie Vetter set during the 2006-07 season.

Desbiens collected 20 saves, including 13 in the second period, to improve to 11-0-0 this season.

Annie Pankowski led the UW offense with a goal and two assists. Erika Sowchuk, Courtney Burke and Emily Clark also lit the lamp for the Cardinal and White.

In the first period, Sowchuk scored her second of the weekend, poking the puck past UMD netminder Kayla Black at the 5:49 mark of the period to give UW a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later on the Badgers' first power play of the contest, Pankowski took a beautiful feed from junior Sarah Nurse and beat Black top corner to double the UW advantage. UW outshot UMD 11-6 in the first frame.

With just 30 seconds left in the second, Burke launched a rocket on UW's third power play that dinged off the left post, right post and across the goal line to give Wisconsin a 3-0 lead. It marked her 86th career point, moving her into sole possession of fourth on the school's all-time points list among defensemen.

Clark scored early in the third on the Badgers' fourth power-play of the game to give UW a 4-0 lead.

Minnesota Duluth's Maria Lindh ended the Badgers' scoreless streak, firing a puck past Desbiens to cut into the UW lead at the 3:03 mark of the final frame.

With just over three minutes left, UMD's Lynn Astrup beat Desbiens to make it a 4-2 game, but the Badgers were able to hold to for the win.

Wisconsin went 3-for-6 on the power play, while killing all four of its penalties. UW also outshot Minnesota Duluth 40-22.

Last Time Out: Wisconsin 0, North Dakota 0 (Dec. 12, 2015)
The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team collected its first tie of the season, as the Badgers and No. 9 North Dakota (11-6-3, 8-5-3-1) skated to a 0-0 draw on Saturday at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Wisconsin won the shootout as sophomore Annie Pankowski scored on the team's first attempt before junior Sydney McKibbon lit the lamp on UW's final attempt of the three-round shootout to take the extra point in the WCHA standings.

The Wisconsin (18-1-1, 12-1-1-1 WCHA) defense played a large role in the stalemate, as the Badgers outshot the Fighting Hawks 41-17, however neither team was able to capitalize in regulation time or the overtime period.

Junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her NCAA-leading 10th shutout of the year, stopping all 17 shots she encountered. Her 27 shutouts rank sixth in NCAA history, and the La Malbaie, Quebec, native needs two more shutouts to tie Clarkson's Erica Howe for fifth on the all-time list.

The teams battled through the three scoreless periods, creating numerous scoring opportunities but both squads were unable to convert. The Wisconsin penalty kill fought off two Fighting Hawk advantages and continue to lead the nation with a .965 clip.

After 65 scoreless minutes, the game officially ended in a tie but went into a three-player shootout to decide which team would earn the extra conference point.

Pankowski's backhand shot slid underneath UND net minder Shelby Amsley-Benzie, hitting the post and trickling into the net. Initially waved off, the goal was reviewed and awarded to the Badgers.

Anna Kilponen and Meghan Dufault attempted shots for UND, while junior Sarah Nurse shot for the Badgers, but all were unsuccessful.

McKibbon took Wisconsin's final attempt, skating in and shooting a dagger between Amsley-Benzie's legs for the shootout victory.

Channell leads Team Canada to gold at Nations Cup
Wisconsin 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 first 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
Wisconsin goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens collected her NCAA-leading 10th shutout against UND on Dec. 12, notching her 27th career shutout. She ranks not only rank third in program history with her career, but the junior goaltender moved into sole possesion of sixth in NCAA history in shutouts heading into this weekend.

The Quest for 400
Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson enters this weekend with a 378-72-35 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.