A week after knocking off defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth, the road doesn't get any easier for the Wisconsin women's hockey team and head coach Mark Johnson.
The Badgers will face off against rival Minnesota Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., taking on a Gopher squad Johnson said has been playing like ""one of the hottest teams in the country"" over the past few months.
""I anticipate it to be a real high-energy, high-octane game,"" he said. ""They like to get up and down the ice real quick and create a lot of opportunities.""
Minnesota has not lost a game since Dec. 2, and enters Madison ranked No. 4 nationally. The Gophers are also one of just two teams to beat the Badgers this year, topping Wisconsin 7-5 in the teams' first meeting Nov. 5 in Minneapolis.
The Badgers will look for senior forward Meghan Duggan to continue her recent hot streak as Minnesota comes to town. Wisconsin's captain is riding a 22-game point streak after scoring two goals and two assists in the series against Duluth, and is nearing Wisconsin's career points record.
""It seems when we need something good to happen on the ice she's involved,"" Johnson said of Duggan.
As the top-ranked Badgers look to defend their home ice this weekend, they should enjoy a larger Kohl Center crowd during Saturday's series finale. Tickets for the game are all $1 as part of UW's ""Fill the Bowl"" promotion, something Johnson said he hopes will attract more fans than Wisconsin normally sees.
""Any time you put more people in your venue and watch your product it gives you the opportunity to showcase what women's hockey is all about,"" he said. ""As people come Friday and Saturday night they're going to see two of the best teams in college hockey right now on the women's side.""
