Game Coverage
Friday, Sept. 22 | 7 pm — LaBahn Arena
Game Coverage
Saturday, Sept. 23 | 7 pm — LaBahn Arena
MADISON, Wis. – With the official start of fall coming on Friday, that means that hockey season is here. The No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team begins regular season play this weekend with a two-game series against Lindenwood. Puck drop on Friday is at 7 p.m. CT while Saturday's contest begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are still available on UWBadgers.com and fans can park in Lot 91 for free two hours before each contest.
No live stream will be available for the series, but fans can follow the game on Twitter (@BadgerWHockey) and check UWBadgers.com following each game for a recap. In addition, WSUM will provide an audio broadcast for Saturday's series finale.
1. A LOOK BACK: The Badgers defeated the South Korea National Team 8-0 in an exhibition game last Saturday at LaBahn Arena. Senior Claudia Kepler and sophomore Alexis Mauermann each scored a pair of goals to lead the Badgers to a decisive victory. Sophomores Abby Roque and Maddie Rowe and freshman Grace Bowlby all contributed two assists each for Wisconsin. The Badgers outshot Korea 60-5 as sophomores Kristen Campbell, Alyson Baldwin and freshman Breanna Blesi all combined for the shutout.
2. SCOUTING THE LADY LIONS: UW will meet Lindenwood for the seventh-straight year as the Badgers met the Lady Lions in their first-ever series in 2011. Wisconsin leads the series 11-0-0, including a 5-1 victory at Lindenwood this past January. UW has outscored LU 74-8 in the previous 11 meetings while posting four shutouts along the way.
The Lady Lions return their starting goaltender in junior Jolene deBruyn and their leading scorer in senior Britannia Gillanders. Gillanders tallied seven goals and six assists during the 2016-17 season and will serve as one of LU's co-captains along with Shannon Morris-Reade.
3. SECOND TO NONE:Â Wisconsin will begin the 2017-18 season ranked No. 2 in the country, according to a USCHO poll released Monday. Clarkson, the defending NCAA champion, ranks ahead of Wisconsin at No. 1. The Badgers also checked in at No. 2 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseason Poll that was announced on Tuesday.
4. TOUGH SLATE: Wisconsin will face four ranked teams this year, including No. 3 Minnesota and No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in WCHA play. The Badgers will also play No. 7 Cornell and No. 8 Northeastern in non-conference play in November with the Badgers' game against Northeastern occurring in Washington, D.C. In addition, UW will meet three teams, Ohio State, Mercyhurst and Boston University, that received votes in the preseason USCHO poll.
5. STELLAR IN SEPTEMBER: The Badgers have been spectacular in regular-season games in September as UW is 13-0-1 all-time in contests played in the month. More impressively, UW has outscored its opponents 91-11 during the ninth month of the year. UW is a perfect 6-0 at home during the month and this weekend's series against Lindenwood marks the first time UW will host a September series since the 2011-12 season.
