It's been a long time coming, but the top-ranked Badgers are finally back in Madison this weekend to host Bemidji State in a Saturday-Sunday showdown at LaBahn Arena.

Wisconsin has played the last three weekends on the road and has played four of their first five series of the 2016-17 season away from LaBahn.

"We are all excited to be back at LaBahn finally," senior captain Sydney McKibbon said. "There's a sense of comfort playing at our rink and there's nothing better than playing in front of our home fans."

The Badgers are coming off of a sweep of Minnesota State in Mankato, as UW blanked the Mavericks 3-0 in the series opener before coming back from a 1-0 deficit to top the Mavericks, 3-1, on Saturday. Five different Badgers lit the lamp during the series, led by Baylee Wellhausen, who scored twice in Saturday's triumph.

"I'm certainly pleased with our effort this past weekend," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "Friday afternoon's game had a lot of energy, a lot of puck pressure and we created a lot of opportunities and came away with a hard-fought victory. On Saturday, we turned the puck over probably too many times from a coaching standpoint in the first period. It seemed like when Mankato scored early in the second period that that woke us up. From that point on, over the last couple of periods, we played very well.

"We've played eight of the 10 games on the road and with the travel and school, I'm proud with the way that our kids responded."

This weekend's series against Bemidji State starts a stretch where UW will play three of its next four series at its home rink — where the team built a perfect 21-0-0 record last season.

Since UW's home fans saw the Badgers earn five of six points at home against Ohio State on Oct. 7-8, UW has enjoyed a six-game winning streak, which included four victories against ranked teams.

"From an on-ice standpoint, I think the chemistry of the team has improved each and every week," freshman Mekenzie Steffen said. "Not only do we practice every day together, we all just get along so well and I think that really contributes to our on-ice chemistry."

The Badgers face a Beavers squad that is dangerous despite having a 4-5-1 record. Bemidji State is the only team this year to hand No. 2 Minnesota a loss, as the Beavers blanked the Golden Gophers 2-0 last month. In addition, BSU also tied No. 3 Minnesota Duluth two weeks ago before being swept by North Dakota last weekend.

"Bemidji State is a really tough team to play because they work hard and block a lot of shots," McKibbon said. "I'm expecting a really tough competitive series."