Game One Coverage
Friday, Nov. 29 | 4:30 pm CT — Bellevue, Tenn.
Game Two Coverage
Saturday, Nov. 30 | 1 pm CT — Bellevue, Tenn.
NASHVILLE -- The second-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team hits the road to Nashville for the Country Classic, a showcase at the Nashville Predators' Ford Ice Center in Bellevue, Tenn. involving Boston College, Harvard and Minnesota. The Badgers will take on the Crimson Friday, Nov. 29 at 4:30 p.m. and the Eagles Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.
Both games can be seen online via LiveBarn ($).
1. SWEEPING ST. CLOUD STATE: The Badgers are coming off a sweep of St. Cloud State, defeating the Huskies 5-3 in the series opener before earning a 6-2 win on Saturday.
Seven different Badgers posted for UW last weekend. Sophomore Sophie Shirley scored three goals in two games while sophomore Britta Curl notched her seventh goal and tenth point in seven games with the Huskies.
2. WATTS IN A BIG COUNTRY: Following a seven-point weekend at St. Cloud, her third of the year, junior
Daryl Watts earned a pair of accolades this week being named the NCAA Second Star of the Week and the WCHA Forward of the Week.
The 2018 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner leads the country in assists (26) and points (41) averaging 2.56 points per game so far this season.
Alongside Watts, Wisconsin holds the nation's next top two point scorers as linemates
Abby Roque ranks second with 33 points and
Sophie Shirley, the 2019 WCHA Rookie of the Year, ranks third in the country with 32.
3. HOUSE OF ROQUE: Senior
Abby Roque tallied her 100th career assist against St. Cloud Friday night, taking over 14th place in school history for scoring with 145 points.
After the weekend, the Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. native's 102 assists rank No. 8 in program history as she became only the eighth Badger to tally 100 career assists.
Roque is only eight helpers away from matching former Badger
Annie Pankowski's 110 career assists that rank No. 7 in school history.
4. TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS: The first-ever Country Classic will be held at the Ford Ice Center Bellevue this weekend and features four of the revolving top-10 teams in the country.
No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Wisconsin are joined by No. 6 Boston College and Harvard at the two-day tournament at the new practice rink for the Nashville Predators. This marks the third time the Badgers will skate on the ice of the pros after scoring a 12-0 victory against LIU Oct. 19 at the New York Islander's Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Badgers will play their second tournament of the season, Battle of the Burgh, Jan. 4-5, 2020 at the Lemieux Sports Complex, the Pittsburgh Penguin's practice facility.
5. AGAINST THE CRIMSON & EAGLES: Wisconsin is no stranger to either Harvard or Boston College as the Badgers swept the Crimson last year at LaBahn Arena and faced the Eagles in the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four.
UW leads the all-time series with Harvard 7-1-0 and have won the last seven matchups after dropping the first game between the two programs back in 1999.
The Badgers earned a victory weekend against the Crimson at the home barn last year as
Annie Pankowski scored a pair of game-winning overtime goals that landed the Badgers' captain on SportsCenter Top-10. Wisconsin outshot Harvard 90-32 on the series.
Against Boston College, UW leads the all-time series with 6-0-0 and have outscored BC 30-8 in their previous meetings.
Last time out, the Badgers faced the Eagles during the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four as Wisconsin blanked BC 1-0 to advance to the national championship game. Then senior
Mellissa Channell launched a shot from the blue line with 17 seconds remaining to lift the Wisconsin women's hockey team to its first NCAA championship appearance since 2012.
The Badgers have a former Eagle on their squad in
Daryl Watts as the Toronto native won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as a freshman for BC.
