MINNEAPOLIS – The top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team returns to action this weekend with a Border Battle at No. 5 Minnesota. Puck drop on Friday at Ridder Arena is set for 6 p.m. while Saturday's series finale is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
Fans can watch both games on B1G+ while fans can listen to Saturday's contest on 100.9 FM as Reid Magnum will have the call.
1. LAST TIME OUT: It's been a minute since the Badgers have played a competitive game after UW's series against St. Thomas last weekend was postponed due to COVID-19 issues at St. Thomas. The Badgers' last contest was an exhibition victory over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 10 at LaBahn Arena while UW's last regular-season series was a series win against No. 4 Quinnipiac on Jan. 1-2. UW earned a 5-2 win on Jan. 1 before drawing the Bobcats, 1-1, in the series finale on Jan. 2.
2. ALL THE OLYMPIANS: A program-record 10 Badgers are set to compete in next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing as five former Badgers were selected for the Team Canada roster while four former Badgers and a future Badger were named to the United States squad. In addition,
Sis Paulsen, the Badgers' equipment manager and director of operations, will serve as the equipment manager for the U.S. Hilary Knight will make her fourth appearance at the Olympics, which is tied for the most appearances in school history, while Kristen Campbell, Abby Roque and Caroline (K.K.) Harvey will make their Olympic debuts.
3. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Seven incoming freshmen have signed their National Letter of Intent to join the Wisconsin women's hockey program next fall. Chloe Baker, Laila Edwards, Claire Enright, Caroline (KK) Harvey, Payton Holloway, Vivian Jungels and Kirsten Simms all signed their National Letters of Intent during the fall signing period and will be joining Wisconsin in the fall of 2022.
4. AGAINST THE GOPHERS: Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Badgers hold a 16-6-6 record against the Golden Gophers with six of those wins coming at Ridder Arena. UW is unbeaten in nine of its last 10 games against the Golden Gophers.
Sophie Shirley has six tallies and seven assists against Minnesota.
Daryl Watts has seven goals and five assists in 11 career games against UM with nine of her 12 points coming during the 2020-21 season, including a game-winning overtime goal at Minnesota last spring.
5. TOUGH SLEDDING: Three of UW's final five series will be against ranked opponents beginning with this weekend's Border Battle. UW will host No. 8 Minnesota Duluth at LaBahn Arena on Feb. 4-5 before wrapping up the regular season at No. 2 Ohio State on Feb. 18-19. The Badgers and Buckeyes are tied in the WCHA standings with a .833 point percentage, while the Gophers are third with a .741 point clip.
