BY AJ HARRISON
UW Athletic Communications

MADISON, Wis. — The best rivalry in women's college hockey resumes this weekend in Madison as the No. 1 Badgers host No. 2 Minnesota in a pivotal WCHA series.

Accolades are in abundance amongst these two teams. Wisconsin and Minnesota have combined to win 10 NCAA titles, 12 WCHA playoff titles and 14 WCHA regular season crowns. The Border Battle returns to the ice Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and Sunday in a 2 p.m. contest that airs live on Fox Sports Wisconsin.

"It's a great rivalry," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "All the games I've been a part of have certainly been very entertaining. Fans end up seeing a high-quality performance by both teams and I know the players get excited on both ends for the matchup, whether we are playing here in Madison or up in Minneapolis, so we're looking forward to the challenge and it should be a lot of fun as we prepare for them."

Senior alternate captain Jenny Ryan couldn't agree more.

"The rivalry against the Gophers is super intense and goes beyond just our team," Ryan said. "Across every sport on campus there is extra hype surrounding games between the Badgers and Gophers. Since we have had such a battle in women's hockey especially, the rivalry seems to be even more prominent and it's really fun to play against them because of our past with them."

This year's Badgers roster sports six Wisconsin natives — Mikayla Johnson, Claudia Kepler, Alexis Mauermann, Nali Mullan, Maddie Rowe and Baylee Wellhausen — and three Minnesota natives — Presley Norby, Sophia Shaver and Mekenzie Steffen — who all experienced the rivalry while growing up.

"Growing up in Wisconsin, it was always a big game when UW played Minnesota," Mauermann, a Janesville, Wis., native, said. "I'm just excited to be a part of the rivalry now."

"I remember my first-ever college game I went to was Wisconsin vs. Minnesota," Shaver, a native of Wayzata, Minn., said. "Ever since then, I've known how big of a rivalry it is and how excited the players and fans are every time we play each other."

There's been a lot of excitement when the two teams have met recently, including six matchups last year. UW ended a winless skid against Minnesota last December at LaBahn Arena, defeating Minnesota 3-2 in overtime before earning a 3-1 victory in the series finale to earn their first sweep against the Gophers since the 2009-10 season.

"I think last year we didn't go into the games against them thinking about how long it had been since we last beat them," Ryan said. "We knew we were a good team. We knew we could beat them and we just went out there and did it. No one held their sticks too tight or worried about who we were playing. We just had fun and played our game."

After defeating Minnesota in the WCHA playoff championship, 1-0, the two teams met in the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four for a third-straight year. UW fell 3-2 in overtime, marking the third-straight year the Golden Gophers ended the Badgers season.

"I think as you look at our roster and you look at their roster compared to what they looked like last year, we've got a lot of people coming back from our team and they lost a couple of key pieces," Johnson said. "But as history tells us they reload and come at you again. The key is not to get too overly excited from a players' standpoint when you come on the ice."

This season Wisconsin enters the Border Battle ranked No. 1 with a 14-1-1 record, while Minnesota is No. 2 with a 13-1-2 ledger.

"As always, we are expecting a hard-fought battle," Ryan said. "We know they are going to be a great team like always, so we're going to need to match their intensity and play with speed. We are also going to have our home crowd behind us, so there's going to be a lot of energy in the building and on the ice."