The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team continues its quest for a fifth NCAA title on Friday as the Badgers meet No. 4 Boston College in the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four in St. Charles, Missouri. Puck drop at The Family Arena is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
This year's matchup between UW and BC is a rematch of a 2012 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal, a game that Wisconsin won 6-2.
 
The winner of Wisconsin/BC will meet the winner of Clarkson/Minnesota on Sunday in the national champion­ship. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will be shown live on Big Ten Network. 

The series against Boston College

Sunday's game marks the sixth time UW and BC have met

The Badgers lead the all-time series with the Eagles 5-0-0

UW hasn't faced Boston College since the 2012 NCAA semifinals, when the Badgers defeated the Eagles, 6-2, to advance to the national championship.

Desbiens named Patty Kazmaier Top-three finalist
For the second-straight year, Wisconsin women's hockey goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens has earned a spot on the top-three list for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the highest individual honor in women's college hockey, USA Hockey announced Thursday.

The 2017 WCHA Goaltending Champion, Desbiens leads the NCAA in goals-against average with a 0.69 mark, which is lower than her NCAA-record 0.76 goals-against average she collected last year. She also has a .963 save percentage this year, a rate that trumps her NCAA-record .960 clip set a year ago.

A native of La Malbaie, Quebec, Desbiens also leads the NCAA in shutouts with 15 and winning percentage with a .900 clip.

She broke the NCAA record for career shutouts with 44 on Nov. 6, 2016 and currently has 53 career blank slates in only 115 starts for the Cardinal and White.

Her 25 wins this year also pace the NCAA while her career win total of 95 ranks fifth in NCAA history.

She has been named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Month twice this year, the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week four times and the American Sports Network National Player of the Week once.

What's almost more impressive is what Desbiens, an accounting major, has done off the ice, as she holds a 3.367 cumulative grade-point average, despite not learning English until high school.

A three-time WCHA All-Academic honoree, Desbiens has been accepted in the Wisconsin School of Business to begin her Integrated Master of Accountancy degree and has secured a top-tier accounting internship in Chicago this summer.

She also is selfless, helping teammates and fellow student-athletes adjust to college life, as last year she helped fellow international student-athlete Andy Van Vliet when he arrived to Madison from Belgium.

Desbiens also spends time before and after games meeting and chatting with young fans that look up to her as a role model and has volunteered with the Badger Life program and at the Veterans hospital.

Joining Desbiens on the top-three list are Minnesota Duluth senior forward Lara Stalder and Clarkson senior forward Cayley Mercer.

Desbiens is only the second Badger to earn a spot on the top-three list multiple times, as Sara Bauer was a top-three selection in 2006 and 2007. Desbiens aims to become Wisconsin's fifth recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, joining Bauer (2006), Jessie Vetter (2009), Meghan Duggan (2011) and Brianna Decker (2012).

The UW netminder looks to become only the third goaltender to win the award, joining Vetter and Brown's Ali Brewer (2000).

The 2017 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented at a brunch ceremony at the Foundry Arts Centre in St. Charles, Missouri on March 18, as a part of the NCAA Women's Frozen Four weekend.