Game One Coverage
Friday, Nov. 2 | 6:07 pm CT — Mankato, Minn.
Game Two Coverage
Saturday, Nov. 3 | 2:07 pm CT — Mankato, Minn.
MANKATO, Minn. – The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team hits the road for only the second time this year to take on Minnesota State in Mankato, Minnesota. Puck drop on Friday is set for 6:07 p.m. CT at the Verizon Center while Saturday's contest, which can be seen live on Fox Sports North, starts at 2:07 p.m.
1. ROOKIES GET THEIR DUE Freshmen are making quite an impact on this season's currently No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team. Just one week after freshman teammate Sophie Shirley was awarded the honor, freshman Britta Curl received the WCHA Rookie of the Week honor for her two-point performance in UW's 4-1 win over Minnesota, Sunday. Curl unleashed 10 shots in the weekend series against the Golden Gophers, helping the Badgers avenge a Saturday night loss with an impressive Sunday performance.
Shirley on Thursday was named the WCHA Rookie of the Month after leading all league newcomers with six goals and 10 points this year. Shirley was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week and the NCAA Third Star of the Week after her four-point weekend against Princeton.
2. TV TIME AGAIN: Saturday's game will be shown live on Fox Sports North Plus and on a tape delay on Fox Sports Wisconsin. Fans can also watch both games this weekend online via FloHockey.
Saturday's TV game marks the second of five UW games on the Fox Sports family of networks as both of UW's game at St. Cloud State will be on Fox Sports Wisconsin as well as UW's home series opener against Minnesota State on Feb. 9.
3. DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES: Both the Badgers and the Mavericks feature head coaches from the storybook 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that captured gold in Lake Placid, N.Y. UW head coach Mark Johnson and MSU head coach John Harrington were forwards for the Americans and both recorded points in the team's legendary semi-final against the Soviets.
4. MATCHUP AGAINST THE MAVS: UW has a lot of winning experience when it comes to their history with the Minnesota State Mavericks. The Badgers have an incredible 84-2-3 overall record against the Mavericks and UW enters the weekend series with a 21-game winning streak against MSU.
5. INTERNATIONAL DUTY: A trio of Badgers will be called into national-team duty in November as senior Emily Clark was named to Hockey Canada's roster for the Four Nations Cup in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, while fellow seniors Mikaela Gardner and Annie Pankowski were selected to the USA Hockey roster for the prestigious tournament. The trio will be with their respective national teams this weekend preparing for the four-team tournament. Clark and Pankowski are no strangers to the Canadian and U.S. national teams, as both have made several appearances for their countries but next week's tournament will mark Gardner's senior debut for USA Hockey. /p>
