After winning its fifth WCHA regular season title on Sunday, the No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team travels to Minneapolis to take on No. 3 Minnesota. Faceoff on Friday is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest on BTN begins at 3 p.m.

UW reached the 30 win mark for the sixth-time in program history on Sunday. UW's winning percentage of .953 is also the best a UW team has had through 30 games of a season.

UW enters the weekend leading the country in scoring defense with a goals-against average of 0.56. UW has shutout its opponents in 18 of its 32 games this year and have allowed only 18 goals on the year

The Badgers lead the NCAA in penalty killing with a .946 clip. UW has killed 87 of its 92 penalties, and has scored seven short-handed goals in 32 games.

The Cardinal and White also ranks fourth in the country scoring offense averaging 3.97 goals per contest.

Player Notes
Annie Pankowski leads the team with 28 assists and 46 points this season. Pankowski ranks eighth in the nation for points per game, averaging 1.56 points per contest, while her three short-handed goals are tied for second in the nation. After scoring three points against MSU on Sunday, Pankowski became the first Badger to record 50 points in a season since Brianna Decker in 2012-13.

Sophomore Emily Clark has notched 20 goals and 18 assists this season, averaging 1.27 points per game. She's tallied six game-winning goals this season, tied for fourth in the NCAA. Clark has 16 points in her last 10 games for UW.

Junior Sarah Nurse ranks seventh in the country for goals per game, averaging 0.75 goals per contest. Her 21 goals lead all Badgers, as well as ranking third all-WCHA. The Hamilton, Ontario, native also ranks third nationally in game-winning goals with five.

Ann-Renée Desbiens leads the nation in save percentage (.966), goals-against average (0.61), and wins (28). She also holds the country's lead in shutouts with 16, the most in program history and ranks second in NCAA history. Desbiens is the only goalie in NCAA history to record back-to-back seasons of 12 or more shutouts. Desbiens also has 33 career shutouts, which ranks second in program history and third in NCAA history

Junior Jenny Ryan ranks sixth in the country's defensemen in points per game, averaging 0.88 points per contest. Ryan's 28 points this season are a career high, coming from six goals and 22 assists. She also has tallied three game-winning goals this season.

Senior Courtney Burke is third in the country in points among defensemen, averaging 0.97 points per contest. Her 104 career points are the third-most in program history among defensemen. Burke is tied for 19th in program history with 104 career points following a five-point effort against Minnesota State on Sunday.

Number of the week
12 - Annie Pankowski became the 12th UW player to tally 50 points in a season, as the sophomore joined the 50-point club with a third-period assist in UW's 8-1 win over Minnesota State on Sunday. 

The Series vs. Minnesota
The Badgers trail in the all-time series with Minnesota 28-44-9.

In Minneapolis, the Badgers trail the all-time series 17-19-4.

Earlier this year, the Badgers earned their first sweep of the Gophers since the 2009-10 season, winning a 3-2 overtime-thriller on Dec. 4 before completing the weekend with a 3-1 victory on Dec. 5.

The sweep also ended an 18-game winless skid against the Golden Gophers.

Last time vs. Minnesota: Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 1 (Dec. 5, 2015)
Fueled by a pair of Annie Pankowski goals, the then-top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey bested No. 3 Minnesota, 3-1, on Saturday in front of a sell-out crowd at LaBahn Arena to complete a sweep of its Border Battle rivals.

With the win, Wisconsin swept the Gophers for the first time since the 2009-2010 season. UW's 18-game winning streak is the second-longest in program history, and tied for the third-longest in WCHA records.

After the teams battles in a scoreless start, Pankowski's first score came with less than four minutes remaining in the first frame. Sophomore Lauren Williams cleared the loose puck up to Pankowski, who skated in on Gopher netminder Amanda Leveille and put the backhand shot right over her shoulder. The goal extended Pankowski's point streak to 21 games, the fifth-longest in UW history.

The first period offense was fairly even for both teams, as UW tallied seven shots on net, while the Maroon and Gold marked nine shots.

Pankowski's 14th goal of the season came late in the second stanza, when she skated to the top of the circles and sniped the puck past four Maroon jerseys and into the net.

The Gophers had one power play opportunity in the second period, but were unable to solve the UW penalty kill, which continues to lead the NCAA with a .980 clip.

Midway through the final period, freshman Sarah Potomak scored Minnesota's only goal of the game, tapping in a loose puck that Desbiens thought she had a hold of to bring the game within one.

In the final minutes, Minnesota pulled Leveille for an extra attacker, but Desbiens made numerous impossible saves to keep the Badgers' lead.

With the Gopher net empty, Nurse chipped the puck past the defensemen, then skated the loose puck down and scored to give the Badgers their insurance goal.

Desbiens collected seven saves in the final period, for a game total of 23 saves. The win marked Desbiens's 53rd victory between the pipes, the fourth-most of any Badger.

Last Time Out: Wisconsin 8, Minnesota State 1 (Feb. 14, 2016)
For the fifth time in program history, the No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team claimed the WCHA regular season title, as the Badgers earned the 2015-16 crown by defeating Minnesota State, 8-1, Sunday in front of a sellout crowd at LaBahn Arena.

En route to its first WCHA regular season title since the 2011-12 season, Wisconsin (30-1-1, 24-1-1-1 WCHA) barraged Minnesota State (3-25-4, 0-22-3-0 WCHA) with six goals in the final frame to secure the sweep. Even more special, the title-clinching victory came on the same day Wisconsin honored its eight seniors.

Senior captain Courtney Burke made history with the game's first goal, as the defenseman became the third UW blueliner to reach 100 points in her career. The Albany, New York, native also added four assists in the win for a career-high five points in the contest.

Sophomore Emily Clark tallied two goals and an assist, while linemate Annie Pankowski recorded a goal and two assists in the victory. Pankowski now has 50 points this season, becoming the first UW player since Brianna Decker during the 2012-13 to reach 50 points in a season.

Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped 10 shots to earn her NCAA-leading 28th win of the year. Desbiens continues to lead the nation in save percentage (.966), goals-against average (0.61), and shutouts (16). Wisconsin also leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 0.56 goals per contest.

Katie Johnson scored Minnesota State's lone goal shortly into the second period, as the Mavs had a power play opportunity with Lauren Williams in the penalty box to knot the game at one.

However, Clark responded with a power-play goal towards the end of the period to give UW a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of action. 

In the third frame, Wisconsin opened the floodgates, taking a four-goal lead before the halfway point of the stanza. Pankowski, Clark, and Nurse each put the puck past Brianna Quade in a one minute, 28 second span of time to give UW the 5-1 lead.

The Badgers outshot the Mavericks 31-2 in the final period, setting a new program record for shots in a period. Wisconsin took a total of 57 shots on net through the game, marking the eighth time this season the team has taken 50 or more shots in a contest.

McKibbon then added her third goal of the weekend, marking the 10th time in her career that she has scored against Minnesota State. Wellhausen and Sowchuk added finishing goals to seal the 8-1 victory.

The Badgers' six goals in the final period tied for the fourth-most in program history in a single period and marked the first time since the 2011-12 season UW scored six or more goals in a single frame. 

Burke, Shaver earned WCHA Player of the Week honors
After leading the No. 2 Badgers to their fifth WCHA regular season title on Sunday, Wisconsin women's hockey senior Courtney Burke and freshmanSophia Shaver were honored as the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and the WCHA Rookie of the Week, respectively, on Tuesday.

It marks the first time that Burke, the Badgers' captain, has been named the league's defensive player of the week and the first time Shaver has been honored by the league.

Burke recorded an assist in UW's 4-0 win on Saturday, before enjoying a milestone day during the Badgers' 8-1 win over Minnesota State on Sunday. After being recognized during a Senior Day ceremony prior to the game, Burke scored a first-period goal to become the third UW defenseman to register 100 career points, and the 19th player in the program to reach the benchmark.

The Albany, New York, native went on to add four assists for a career-high five-point performance. Her six points on the weekend were a conference-best mark, while her +5 plus/minus rating tied for the conference lead.

Burke ranks third nationally in scoring among defensemen, averaging 0.97 points per game, which also tops all WCHA blue-liners. She leads the conference in plus/minus with a +46 rating.

Shaver tallied a career high three assists in Wisconsin's 8-1 win over Minnesota State, the most by a WCHA rookie during the weekend. Her +5 plus/minus rating was also a league-best mark among freshmen.

The Wayzata, Minnesota, native now has six goals and six assists this season and her +19 plus/minus rating is the third-best mark among WCHA rookies.

Koch recognized as AHCA Assistant Coach of the Year
Wisconsin women's hockey associate head coach Dan Koch was named the American Hockey Coaches Association Women's Hockey Assistant Coach of the Year, as announced by the group on Thursday.

A Madison native, Koch is in his fifth season as the Badgers' associate head coach after serving eight years as an assistant coach, amassing a 367-81-35 (.796) record behind the bench. Koch has assisted the Badgers to seven NCAA Frozen Fours and saw the team win three of their four national titles.

Koch oversees the stingy UW defense, which has ranked among the top-three teams nationally for scoring defense in 11 of his 12 seasons with the Badgers. That includes the 2006-07 squad that set the NCAA record with a 0.88 goals-against average. His defensemen have led the NCAA in scoring defense in three different seasons.

This season, Koch helped the Badgers set the NCAA men's and women's shutout record, tallying nine-consecutive shutouts that spanned over 624 minutes between Oct. 3 and Nov. 14. The Badgers have recorded shutouts in 12 of their 22 games this season and have a goals-against average of 0.64 to pace the country.

Koch also plays a part in the team's penalty kill, which has led the NCAA four of his 12 seasons. Last year, the UW penalty kill set the NCAA record with a .958 clip.

Koch will be recognized on April 29 during the 2016 AHCA Convention in Naples, Florida. Read more here.

Badgers sign seven for 2016-17 season
The Wisconsin women's hockey program and head coach Mark Johnson announced the signing of seven student-athletes for the 2016-17 season on Tuesday.

Joining the Badgers next fall are goaltenders Alyson Baldwin (Richmond, Texas) and Nicole Cece (Oakville, Ontario), forwards Alexis Mauermann (Janesville, Wisconsin), Presley Norby (Shorewood, Minnesota) and Abby Roque (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) and defensemen Maddie Rowe (River Falls, Wisconsin) and MeKenzie Steffen (Centerville, Minnesota).

"It's a big class," Johnson said. "It's probably one or two players bigger than what we normally have, but with eight seniors graduating we need to fill positions and bring kids in who are capable of playing next year and helping the team. In saying that, you look at the group and whether in net, on the blue line or up front, there's a lot of exciting players and kids who have experienced good things at their respective club and high school teams but also at the national and international level."

Between the seven players, five have represented their respective countries at international events, including Norby, who played earlier this month for the United States National Team at the 2015 Four Nations Cup, helping Team USA win gold.

Learn more about the class here.

Note of the Week
The Badgers' 24 WCHA wins this season are tied for the most in program history. During the 2010-11 season, the Badgers earned a 24-2-2 conference record en route to the program's fourth national title.

The Quest for 400
Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson enters this weekend with a 390-72-35 record in his 13 years on the UW bench. His 340 wins are the third-most in NCAA Division I women's hockey history.

Johnson is only 10 wins away from becoming the third NCAA Division I women's hockey coach ever to win 400 games.

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 passed former UMD bench boss Shannon Miller for third on the NCAA list on Sunday with the team's 3-1 win over North Dakota.

Home, Sweet Home
At LaBahn Arena, the Badgers are tough to beat, as UW is 61-10-3 (.844) at the new barn. The Badgers have outscored their opponents 269-72 at LaBahn Arena, and have posted 31 shutouts.

In 18 home games this year, the Badgers have outscored their opposition 75-9 at LaBahn Arena. 10 of those 18 games have had sellout crowds, a program record.