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MADISON, Wis.— No. 1 ranked Wisconsin is set to host its first home series of the 2020-21 season this Friday and Saturday. The Badgers will be hosting the No. 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, making this the second matchup between the two teams this season. Friday's puck drop is set for 2 p.m. and Saturday's is set for noon.

Both games can be seen live on Big Ten Plus while Saturday's game will air on 100.9 FM as Reid Magnum and Mark Greenhalgh will have the call. 

Here are five things to know before the series begins.

1. MINNESOTA STATE SWEEP: This past weekend the Badgers took on the Mavericks for the second series of the season. Saturday's tilt ended in a 3-2 triumph for the Badgers with career-first goals for freshmen Makenna Webster and Casey O'Brien and a game-winning goal from  senior Daryl Watts.

We know today's a day that @makweb8 and @casey_obrien5 won't forget!

The #Badgers forward duo each scored their first collegiate goals today! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/bSIKYX78TA

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) January 2, 2021

Sunday's game ended in a 1-0 win for the Badgers to complete the sweep of Minnesota State. The goal came from senior Brette Pettet and senior goaltender Kennedy Blair completed her first shutout of the season with 21 saves.

2. BADGERS ARE BACK: In the team's first week back to play, the Badgers earned both Defenseman of the Week and Goaltender of the Week in the WCHA weekly honors. Seniors Grace Bowlby and Kennedy Blair earned the honors for their respective positions after both had outstanding weekends at Minnesota State. Blair recorded the only league shutout of the weekend on Sunday with 21 saves and saved 18 of 20 shots on Saturday. She leads the league with a .951 save percentage and tied the conference-mark with a 1.00 GAA. Bowlby recorded assists on all three of Saturday's goals to tie a career-high single-game mark with a +2 plus/minus rating.

3. HOME, SWEET HOME: This weekend will be the first series that the Badgers have hosted since the weekend of Feb. 15, 2020 which was also the last time Ohio State visited Madison. Wisconsin holds an 82-3-4 record at LaBahn since the 2015-16 season. The Badgers have also gone undefeated at home in both the 2015-16 season and the 2017-18 season. All-time, the Badgers have outscored their opponents 592-135 at LaBahn.

4. TALKING ABOUT THE BUCKEYES: Last time against the Buckeyes, the Badgers split the series with a 3-2 loss and then 5-0 win. No. 4 ranked Ohio State has only met with Bemidji State since meeting with Wisconsin and recorded a sweep going 4-1 in the first game and 7-1 in the second. Seniors Daryl Watts and Sophie Shirley know how to put up a good fight against the Buckeyes. In their last meeting, Shirley scored her 100th career point in Columbus with the apple on a goal by Watts and then went on to score her 50th and 51st career goals. The two have proven to be a powerful pair against Ohio State.

5. UP NEXT: Wisconsin will be hosting Minnesota next weekend for the first Border Battle of the season. The No. 2 ranked Golden Gophers are currently 5-1 with two sweeps over Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State and then a split series against Ohio State. Both games against the Golden Gophers will begin at 2 p.m. next weekend.