– After opening the season with a 4-0-0 record, the No. 1 Badgers head back on the road to start conference play with No. 8 Ohio State in Columbus Ohio. Puck drop is set for Friday at 5:07 p.m. and Saturday at 2:07 p.m.
1. SHUTOUT SHUTDOWN: The Badgers closed out last weekend with a two-game shutout streak in their home-opening series and first ever matchup against Penn State.
UW went 7-0 and 3-0 in front of sellout crowds at LaBahn Arena where the Badgers improved their home barn record to an impressive 41 shutouts and a 75-2-4 in the last five years.
Senior netminder Kristen Campbell added her second and third shutouts of the season to further her career total to 26. She is six short of overtaking Alex Rigsby (2010-14) as having the third most shutouts in school history.Â
2. IN THE POCKET FOR POSICK:Â Junior Maddie Posick posted her first ever career goal with 5:35 left in the first taking the puck between the legs from junior Daryl Watts to hit an open left side of the net.
The moment had a special spin for the Badger as her father and radio announcer for the Wisconsin men's hockey team, Brian Posick, was able to call the goal live.
3. WATTS THE WORD: Junior Daryl Watts, the 2018 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, is coming off of a seven point weekend against Penn State as she tallied three goals and four assists in the sweep. Her 11 points this year take her to the top of the NCAA scoreboard.
Watts became just the sixth Badger in school history to score goals in each of the first four games of the season. The Toronto native also tallied her first multi-goal game Saturday with a wrister and a rebound.
4. AGAINST THE BUCKEYES:Â The last three historical matchups have been close calls for the Badgers. After an unpredictable January series in the 2018-19 season with one win and one loss, Wisconsin and Ohio State were at a standstill for its February series ending in a two-game tie.
UW came back with a 3-2 win against Ohio State in the WCHA Final Faceoff March 9, 2019 to advance to the final round against Minnesota, where the team earned their eighth WCHA Championship title. With just under five minutes left in the third, Annie Pankowski (2014-19) broke the 2-2 game open going five-hole and scoring her 200th career point.
The weekend series will be the Badgers' 88th tilt with the Buckeyes standing an overall 67-11-9 record and going 5-3-2 in their last 10 matchups.Â
The first game between the two conference rivals was a 2-1 victory in UW's first season in the NCAA on Oct. 15, 1999.Â
5. 20 YEARS IN THE MAKING: October 8, 2019 marked the 20th anniversary of the first ever game for the Wisconsin women's hockey team.Â
Kerry Weiland Sorbara (former UW defenseman, 1999-03), Angie Keseley Johnson (former UW forward, 2005-09) and Ann-Renée Desbiens (former UW goaltender, 2013-17) explain what it meant for the women's hockey program to initiate and how far the team has come in the last two decades.Â
