Mankato, Minn.--- The Minnesota State women’s hockey team returns to WCHA action this weekend traveling to newly-opened LaBahn Arena to faceoff against conference-foe the Wisconsin Badgers.  The Mavericks - whom are in the midst of a six-game road trip - were swept last weekend by fifth-ranked Mercyhurst, 8-1 & 3-1. Meanwhile, UW took two games from visiting New Hampshire, 2-1 & 5-0.  With the two schools separated by only two points in the league standings, it should prove to be an important weekend for both programs.

Badgers (5-3-2)	VS.	Mavericks (4-4-2)
8-of-35 (22.9%)	Power-Play	8-of-37 (21.6%)
3-of-34 (8.8%)	Penalty-Kill	7-of-46 (15.2%)
3.1	Goals/Game	2.1
37.3	Shots/Game	25.5
7.6	Penalty Minutes/Game	12.2
Brianna Decker (10G, 7A) Madison Packer (3G, 6A) Karley Sylvester (6G, 2A)	Scoring Leaders	Tracy McCann (6G, 6A) Lauren Smith (6G, 2A) Emilia Andersson (2G, 5A)
Alex Rigsby (1.50 GAA)	Goaltending Leaders	Danielle Butters (2.25 GAA)

Inside the MSU/UW Series:  

• Minnesota State is 1-54-3 all-time against Wisconsin in a series dating back to 1999.MSU tied the Badgers 2-2 and fell 3-2 in the opening weekend of the season at All Seasons Arena.
• Four different Mavericks scored in that series with junior Tracy McCann, senior Emilia Andersson, and senior Lauren Zrust tallying two points a piece.
• The Badgers were led on offense by Brianna Decker who collected two goals and an assist, while Madison Packer and Brittany Ammerman added two helpers respectively.
• Junior goaltender Danielle Butters amassed 77 saves in the two-game series for Minnesota State to earn WCHA Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
• UW netminder Alex Rigsby stopped 37 of 41 shots to carry the Badgers defensively.
• The Mavericks failed to record a win in Madison a year ago dropping all four contests to the Badgers, including two in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
• The Maverick power-play fired off at 1-of-3, while holding the Badgers to 1-of-5 with their penalty-kill.
• Minnesota State’s largest margin of victory was a 5-3 victory in Madison on Feb. 12, 2010, and Wisconsin’s came in Mankato on Feb. 19, 2011 in the form of a 9-1 win.

A Little Bit More On the Badgers:  

• Wisconsin boasts a 5-3-2 overall record and 1-3-2-1 mark in the WCHA including 2-1-1 at home.
• The Badgers are coming off a series sweep of New Hampshire, 2-1 & 5-0.  This weekend’s series will mark the end of a six-game homestand for UW in brand new LaBahn Arena.
• Wisconsin is led offensively by Patty Kazmeier Award winner, Brianna Decker, who has totalled 10-7--17 and +12 through ten contests.
• Madison Packer and Karley Sylvester have accumulated 3-6--9 and 6-2--8 to help carry the load for UW.
• Badger netminder Alex Rigsby has started every game for Wisconsin posting a 1.50 goals against average and .932 save percentage.
• UW offense ranks 11th nationally with 3.10 goals/game and T-fifth in scoring defense at 1.50 goals/game.
• The Badger power-play is clicking at 8-of-35 (22.9%) good for 11th in the country, while their penalty-kill sits fourth at 3-of-34 (8.8%).

MSU vs. the Rest of the Nation:  Individually, junior Tracy McCann sits 36th in points/game (1.20), 28th in goals/game (0.60), and seventh in power-play goals (3)...Senior Lauren Smith also stands tied for 28th in goals/game (0.50), while ranking fifth in game-winners (2)...Senior Emilia Andersson rates 19th in points/game for defensemen (0.70) and 21st in power-play markers (2)...Junior Danielle Butters stacks up 19th in goals against average (2.25), 18th in save percentage (.929), and fifth in shutouts (2).  Team-wise, Minnesota State ranks 15th in scoring defense while boasting the nation’s 12th-best power-play.

Standing Out: Minnesota State sits fourth in the WCHA standings six points behind second-place Ohio State and three back of third-place North Dakota who each have two more league games played than MSU.  This week’s opponent, Wisconsin, stands just two points behind the Mavericks.

What Lies Ahead:  Minnesota State will not play in Mankato until after Thanksgiving as it prepares for the second of three series on the road.  After this weekend’s action in Madison, MSU will face top-rated Minnesota at Ridder Arena.

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