MANKATO, Minn.--- Minnesota State (2-0-0) travels to Madison, Wis., to face off with No. 1 Wisconsin (4-0-0) to open WCHA conference play. The reigning NCAA champions came into the season tied for the top spot in the 2023-24 WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll while receiving the most first-place votes in the USCHO Division I Women's Poll.   

Last Time Out:
Minnesota State dominated Sacred Heart outscoring the Pioneers 16-1 over the weekend. MSU had 16 different players register a point against SHU including five freshmen.

Senior Jamie Nelson earned WCHA Forward of the Week honors after leading the Mavericks' offensive push registering a team-high seven points on the weekend. Through two games the Maverick forward collected four goals and three assists setting a new career high for most points in the series. Her five-point performance on Oct. 6 launched her into the history books tying Kelsey King (2022) and Kim Corona (1999) for the most points in a single game.

Junior Jayden Seifert earned WCHA Defender of the Week honors after helping anchor the Mavericks defense. Seifert tallied two assists and was plus-4 in the Mavericks' 9-0 win on Oct. 6.  Seifert completed her weekend with an assist on sophomore Whitney Tuttle's goal to open the game's scoring on Oct. 7.  In the two games, Seifert registered three assists, bumping her career assist total to nine.

Senior Lauren Barbro and junior Suzette Faucher both earned their first wins of the season. After her win on Friday, Barbro leaped to seventh in MSU all-time wins with 10 and eighth in MSU all-time shutouts with eight.    

Taking on UW:  
The Badgers have been the top-ranked program in Division I women's college hockey since March 20, 2023. They finished the 2022-23 regular season third in the WCHA standings with a 29-10-2 overall record and a 19-7-2 conference record. The Badgers reached the NCAA National Championship beating Ohio State.

Wisconsin started the season 4-0-0 in non-conference action defeating Lindenwood and Boston College. In four games the Badgers have outscored their opponents 39-6. Senior Britta Curl and junior Eden Lacey head the Badger offense combining for 22 points through four games. Lacey leads Division I women's hockey in shots with 30 resulting in a team-leading eight goals this season. In 107 previous matchups with the Badgers, the Mavericks own a 3-101-3 record.

The Badgers' power-play unit is tied for third best in the country with a .500 power-play percentage resulting in eight power-play goals which ranks best in the nation.

In goal, Wisconsin relies on a platoon of junior Jane Gervais and Ava McNaughton who have combined for a 1.51 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage for a 4-0-0 record.