MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State Mavericks (5-3-0, 1-3-0 WCHA) are back on the road this weekend for a two-game series against the No. 1 University of Wisconsin (8-0-0, 4-0-0 WCHA). Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wis.

Scouting the Badgers

The top-ranked Badgers enter the weekend with a perfect 8-0 record after winning the 2025 Ice Breaker Tournament, defeating Vermont 8-1 and Union College 4-0. Wisconsin currently sits atop the WCHA standings, as well as the USA Hockey and USCHO National polls.

This year's roster features six new players, including three forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender. Graduate student Lacey Eden leads the Badgers with two goals and eight assists for 14 points.

Between the pipes, junior Ava McNaughton anchors Wisconsin's defense with a 0.77 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage.

Mavericks Recap vs. Minnesota Duluth

The Mavericks are coming off a hard-fought weekend series against No. 4 Minnesota Duluth.

On Friday, Minnesota State battled through a scoreless first period and trailed just 1-0 after two, before falling 5-0 at AMSOIL Arena. Goaltender Hailey Hansen turned in a strong performance, making several key stops to keep MSU in the game early. Offensively, Taylor Otremba, Sophie Stramel, Ava Guillemette, and Kamryn Van Batavia each generated quality scoring chances for the Mavericks.

On Saturday, the Mavericks struck first and carried a 1-0 lead into the third period before ultimately falling 3-1. Otremba scored her second goal of the season at the 6:58 mark of the first, with assists from Van Batavia and Lauren Zawoyski. Hansen was stellar once again, stopping all shots through two periods and finishing with 39 saves on the night.

The Mavericks began the year with four straight non-conference victories, including series sweeps over RPI and Lindenwood. Junior defender Lauren Zawoyski (Edina, Minn.) leads the team with eight points (eight assists). Freshman forward Zoe Lopez (Plymouth, Minn.) and sophomore Lauren Goldsworthy (Minnetonka, Minn.) have four goals apiece.

Minnesota State is averaging 2.5 goals per game and its power play is scoring at a 13-percent clip. The Mavericks are currently sixth in the WCHA standings. After this weekend's series at Wisconsin, the team will return home to host Bemidji State Oct. 31-Nov.1.

Series History

Wisconsin leads the all-time series 109-3-3. The teams last met in January 2025, when the Badgers swept the series with 6-2 and 3-1 wins in Madison.

Watch Live 

Both games this weekend will be streamed live on B1G+ (bigtenplus.com).