Wisconsin Badgers
Minnesota
Five things to know: No. 1 Badgers face No. 3 Gophers
January 28, 2026 | Women's Hockey
UW takes on Minnesota at Ridder Arena
MADISON, Wis. - The No.1 Wisconsin women’s hockey team travels to Ridder Arena to face the No. 3 Minnesota Gophers on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30 and 31. Saturday’s game will be at 6 p.m and Sunday’s at 2 p.m. (CT)
Fans can watch the action on Big Ten Plus or listen to Paul Braun on The Game 1070 AM.
Here are five things to know about the series
1. SWEPT AWAY
The Badgers made their 2026 LaBahn debut on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 24 and 25, where they swept the Bemidji State Beavers.
Seniors shined during Saturday’s game, and the Badgers beat Bemidji 10-3. Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms each had six-point hat tricks, with Harvey's being the first in her career. Laila Edwards, McKayla Zilisch, and Claire Enright also found their way into the back of the net. Senior goaltender Chloe Baker entered the net during the third period and recorded three saves.
Wisconsin stayed hot for game two as Simms, Harvey and Lacey Eden all had multi-point games. Kelly Gorbatenko joined the scoring party, and Enright punctuated the series to garner UW’s 6-1 win. As UW outshot the Beavers 54-15. Goaltender Ava McNaughton recorded 14 saves.
2. WCHA DISTINCTIONS
Coming off a stellar weekend against Bemidji, three Badgers gathered WCHA honors on Monday.
Harvey was named Defender of the Week after gathering her first-ever career hat trick. Harvey is the third-ever UW defender to do so, after Sis Paulsen, who had two in 1999.
Freshman Adéla Šapovalivová earned her first-ever Rookie of the Week award this Monday. Šapovalivová set a new personal record during game one of UW’s series against Bemidji with four assists.
Simms was named as Forward of the Week after a three-goal and three-assist game against Bemidji. Simms collected her second hat trick of the season, and fourth in her career.
All three UW skaters will depart for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy this week. Simms, Harvey and Šapovalivová will be joined by Ava McNaughton and Laila Edwards.
3. AGAINST MINNESOTA
UW last met Minnesota at home over Hallo-weekend. The Badgers fell short 5-1 in the first game of the series before striking back to close out the weekend with a 7-2 victory.
Overall, the Badgers are 59-58-16 with the Gophers, with an away record of 20-27-9. However, in the last 10 matchups dating back to February of 2024, UW is 9-1 against Minnesota.
Last season, the Badgers knocked the Gophers out of the NCAA Frozen Four with a 6-2 win. In the game on March 21, 2025, alternate captain Edwards recorded a hat trick, while Harvey, Simms and former Badger Casey O’Brien scored the other three goals.
4. GOPHER STATUS
Similar to UW, the Minnesota women’s hockey team has had quite the run this season. The Gopher squad is currently ranked No. 3 in the USCHO polls and is 22-4 overall.
The Gophers have only fallen to No. 2 Ohio State and the No. 1 Badgers in two split series. The Gophers were also swept by unranked Minnesota State Mankato.
Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy will play alongside Badgers Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms, Ava McNaughton and Laila Edwards while representing Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
In addition to Murphy, the Gophers will also miss the services of forwards Josefin Bouveng (Sweden) and Tereza Plosová (Czechia), as well as defender Captain Nelli Laitinen (Finland).
5. WHAT'S NEXT
After the Badgers’ series against Minnesota, the team will return home to face No. 2 Ohio State at LaBahn Arena.
The last matchup against the Buckeyes and the Badgers was at the Ohio State Ice Arena, where the Badgers swept Ohio State 2-1 and 6-1 on Dec. 5 and 6. In both games, captain Caroline Harvey got a shot at a breakaway goal.
The previous meet-up between the two teams was in the NCAA Frozen Four National Championship game. In this game, UW earned an OT 4-3 win and went on to win it all. Wisconsin’s home record against Ohio State is 39-7-7.
