What's On Tap:  Minnesota State opens Western Collegiate Hockey Association competition this weekend when it travels east to Madison, Wis., for a series with the host sixth-rated Badgers.
 
Minnesota State (1-1-0) earned a home split with No. 7 Mercyhurst last weekend, while this weekend's games will mark the first of the year for No. 6 Wisconsin (0-0-0). The series kicks off Friday night at 7:07 p.m., before wrapping up Saturday afternoon at 3:07 p.m.
 
Last Time on the Ice:  The Purple and Gold opened the 2013-14 campaign with a 4-2 home victory over No. 7 Mercyhurst. MSU scored twice in both the second and third periods as four different Mavericks found the back of the net in the win. Junior Natalie Stoltz (St. Paul, Minn.) and sophomore Katie Johnson (Anoka, Minn.) each scored their first career goal in the win with Johnson's being the game-winner. Senior Danielle Butters (London, Ontario) totaled 39 saves in the contest, including 17 in the third period,  to collect her first win of the year.
 
In Saturday's series finale, the Mavericks found themselves trailing 3-0 in the third period before junior Kathleen Rogan (Vancouver, B.C.) and senior Nicole Germaine (Mississauga, Ontario) tallied goals just 40 seconds apart. MSU had a pair of power-plays late in the third period but were unable to convert coming up one goal short. Butters stopped a game-high 32 shots in the defeat giving her 71 on the weekend.
 
Looking at the Badgers:  Wisconsin enters the 2013-14 campaign after finishing 23-10-2 overall a year ago and 17-9-2 in the WCHA, good for a second place finish. UW season came to an end in the first round of the WCHA Final Face-Off where it dropped a 2-1 decision at the hands of North Dakota.  Offensively, Wisconsin averaged 2.9 goals per game and 33.7 shots per game; while defensively, it surrendered a mere 1.5 goals per game and 26.0 shots per game. The UW power-play connected at a 18.1% clip, while its penalty-kill unit boasted an 86.9% efficiency.
 
The Badgers are under the direction of head coach Mark Johnson who as the winningest coach in program history has guided UW to a 280-46-26 overall record and four NCAA national championships in his nine seasons. Wisconsin returns 14 point scorers from last season, including eight seniors, along with senior goaltender Alex Rigsby (G, 5-7, Delafield, Wis.) who was a Second Team All-WCHA pick a year ago. Gone this year is First-Team All-WCHA selection Brianna Decker who is training with the U.S. Olympic team, but sophomore Courtney Burke (D, 5-9, Albany, N.Y.) is back and was a All-WCHA Rookie Team member as a freshman last year. Senior Madison Packer (F, 5-9, Birmingham, Mich.) is UW's leading returning scorer after producing 18-19--37 last year, followed by junior Karley Sylvester (F, 5-9, Warroad, Minn.) with 10-13--23 and Burke who had 4-19--23. Rigsby started all 35 games between the pipes last year and posted a 1.49 goals against average and .943 save percentage with seven shutouts.
 
Last Time Around: Minnesota State went 0-3-1 against Wisconsin a year ago as it tied the Badgers 2-2 in both teams' season-opener before falling 3-2, 2-0, and 5-0 in the remaining three contests against UW.
 
Minnesota State All-Time:   The MSU women's hockey program - started in 1998-99 - is currently in its 16th season of competition and has compiled a 146-337-46 (.319) record in 529 total games played. The Mavericks are in their 15th year as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and boast an 82-252-38 (.271) mark in 372 league contests.

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