What's On Tap:  Minnesota State heads to Madison, Wis., this weekend to take on the third-rated Wisconsin Badgers in the first round of Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff action.

The Mavericks (3-27-4, 0-25-3 WCHA) met up with the Badgers two weekends ago in Madison, losing  by scores of 4-0 and 8-1. 

Last Time on the Ice:  Minnesota State took two close-game losses last weekend at home against No. 7 Bemidji State. The Mavericks were downed by the Beavers in Friday's game 3-1 with BSU grabbing an empty-net goal and were defeated Saturday by a clip of 2-1.

On Friday, Bemidji State took the game's first lead at the 16:17 mark of the first period.  Kaitlyn Tougas took advantage of a Minnesota State miscue in the Maverick's offensive zone, that ultimately led her on a two-on-one opportunity.  Tougas passed the puck over to Stephanie Anderson to one-time home for a short-handed goal.

Half way through the second, BSU would widen the margin to two when Summer Thibodeau grabbed her own rebound and snuck the puck underneath Minnesota State goaltender, Brianna Quade.  MSU responded just 22 seconds later when defenseman Anna Fiegert snapped a shot on net from the point. At 10:51 of the second period, sophomore Hannah Davidson deflected Fiegert's shot from the point through the legs of Beaver netminder Brittni Mowat, cutting the lead to one.

The game would roll all the way up until the last 30 seconds of regulation before another goal was scored.  A couple of seconds after Minnesota State made a move to bring an extra attacker onto the ice, Bemidji State capitalized with an empty-net goal, and Tougas collecting her eighth of the season.

Quade stopped 28 of 30 Beaver shots, moving her season total to 922 saves while Mowat saved 23.

In Saturday's affair, it was Minnesota State who moved the numbers on the scoreboard first. After a scoreless first period, Fiegert would take a pass from her defense partner and blast a slapshot past Mowat at 4:01 on the power play. The Beavers would answer 2:56 later as Lauren Miller notched her eighth tally of the season at 6:57. 

Kristin Huber scored what proved to be the game-winner for BSU when she came down the left side of the ice into the Minnesota State zone.  Huber loaded a snapshot, and sniped it over the left shoulder of Quade at 12:29 of the third period.  

Minnesota State's special teams were 1-2 on the power play, while the penalty-kill unit did not see the ice due to no penalties called against.  Quade halted another 25 shots in Saturday's contest to bring her season total up to 950.

Scouting The Badgers:  First-seeded  Wisconsin comes into the weekend owners of a WCHA-best record of 24-3-1 and a 30-3-1 overall record. Last weekend the No. 2 Badgers were swept in the final week of the regular season by WCHA opponent No. 2 Minnesota.  UW was shutout 4-0 in the first game against the Gophers last weekend before getting bested 4-3 in overtime.  

Wisconsin is led by head coach Mark Johnson who has compiled a 390-74-35 record in 13 seasons at the helm of the Badgers program.

Sophomore Annie Pankowski leads the team with 52 points (20-32--52) while Emily Clark has accumulated 38 (20-18--38).  Sarah Nurse  and Courtney Burke trail with 32 and 31 points, respectively. Junior  goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens owns a 27-3-1 record this season allowing .82 goals per game while amassing a save percentage of .956. 

As a team the Badgers are averaging 3.82 goals per game while allowing 0.76 goals per game. They are also outshooting their opponents, averaging 41.26 shots per game while allowing 18.3

Last Time Around: Minnesota State came across the University of Wisconsin twice during the regular season for a home and an away series.  The Mavericks were swept in both duels, getting outscore at a clip of 25-1 in total.

Minnesota State All-Time: The MSU women's hockey program - started in 1998-99 - is currently in its 18th season of competition and has compiled a 162-398-52 (.306) record in 614 total games played. The Mavericks are in their 17th year as members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and hold an 83-304-42 (.243) mark in 428 league contests. 

Top-10:  Over the last 12 games Minnesota State has played,  eight of the contests have  been against teams who are ranked either eighth or higher in the country.  Though the Mavericks have a 0-7-1 record in those eight games, four of them have been one-goal matches.  Now this weekend,Minnesota State matches up against the third-rated Badgers making that stretch even greater at 10 games against top-10 opponents in the last 14 contests.

Single-Season Approaches: On Minnesota State's All-Time single-season list, senior Katie Johnson ranks T-10th for assists with 16 in 2015-16.  Junior goaltender Brianna Quade ranks sixth with 950 saves in 2015-16, and sophomore Anna Keys has made the list as well, tying seventh for points by a defenseman in a season with 13 in 2015-16.  Also, Emily Antony is just two points outside of the top-10 list for points by a freshman with 16 this season. 

Looking Ahead:  Pending the best-of-three  series this weekend at Wisconsin, Minnesota State would go on to play at the WCHA Final Faceoff Tournament next weekend at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.  The teams will be reseeded after this weekend based off of their regular season standings.

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