What's On Tap: Minnesota State women's hockey welcomes No. 1 Wisconsin to Verizon Wireless Center for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series on Friday and Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:07 p.m., on both days.

Looking Back at Last Weekend: The Mavericks (2-5-1, 0-5-1-0 WCHA) tied St. Cloud State 2-2 on Friday night, but the Huskies won the shootout 2-1 in eight rounds. Minnesota State and St. Cloud State concluded their series on Saturday with Minnesota State losing 2-0.  

Sophomore Surge: Sophomore forward Emily Antony tallied one goal and  an assist for a team-high two points in Minnesota State's 2-2 tie with St. Cloud State on Friday.  Antony's goal -- her second of the season -- tied the game at 18:08 in the third period to force overtime. The Plymouth, Minn., native garnered her first assist of the season on freshman forward Emily Antony's first career goal in the same game. Antony has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in 44 games for Minnesota State. In Friday night's shootout, Antony was the lone Maverick to be successful on an attempt.    
 
Freshman Force: Freshman forward Demi Gardner scored her first career goal in Minnesota State's 2-2 tie with St. Cloud State on Friday night. Gardner became the second freshman to score for the Mavericks in 2016-17. Freshman forward Sofia Poinar scored her first career goal in Minnesota State's 2-1 win over RIT on Oct. 1 at Verizon Wireless Center. Freshman defenseman McKenzie Sederberg contributed her first career assist at Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 8.

Assisting on the Play: The Mavericks have 17 assists on their 10 goals this season. Junior defenseman Anna Keys and sophomore forward Corbin Boyd are tied for the team lead with three assists each. Junior forward Hannah Davidson is third with two assists in 2016-17.

Between the Pipes: Senior Brianna Quade (1-4-1) started both games in goal for the Mavericks against St. Cloud State last weekend. Quade, who recorded 48 saves over her two starts against St. Cloud State, enters the series against Wisconsin with 1,581 career saves -- the fifth most in program history. Last season, Quade tallied a career-high 52 saves on 56 shots faced against Wisconsin on Feb. 26. So far this season, Quade and sophomore Katie Bidulka (1-1-0) have combined for 186 saves over the first eight games -- an average of 23.25 saves per game.

Contributions Across Classes: So far this season, the Mavericks have received offensive contributions from each class. The seniors have garnered one goal and three assists for four points, the juniors have tallied two goals and seven assists for nine points, the sophomores have contributed five goals and six assists for 11 points, and the freshmen have recorded two goals and one assist for three points. 

Special Teams: Minnesota State is 21-of-25 (.840) on the penalty kill and 2-of-24 (.083) on the power play this season. The Mavericks are sixth in the WCHA in penalty kill percentage and seventh in power play percentage.  

Scouting Wisconsin: The No. 1 Badgers  (7-0-1, 5-0-1-1 WCHA) come to Verizon Wireless Center on a four-game winning streak, including a two-game series sweep at North Dakota last weekend. The Badgers won 2-0 on Saturday and 5-2 on Sunday. 

Wisconsin, which ranks first in the WCHA with 3.50 goals scored per game, is led on offense by senior forward Sarah Nurse, who paces the team in goals (8) and points (11). Nurse tallied a season-high four goals in the Badger's 5-2 win over North Dakota on Sunday.

In net for the Badgers, senior Ann-Renée Desbiens (7-0-1) leads the WCHA with three shutouts in 2016-17. She also leads the WCHA in goals against average (0.99) and is fourth in save percentage (.938).  

Last Time Around: The Mavericks were 0-6-0 against the Badgers in 2015-16. Minnesota State last defeated Wisconsin 3-0 on March 1, 2014 in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.