As the temperatures in Madison begin to rise out of the polar vortex, so too does the anticipation ahead of the Wisconsin women's hockey team's biggest matchup of the season against the No. 1 Minnesota Gophers.
The No. 2 Badgers (19-3-2-1 WCHA, 23-3-2 overall) will look to avenge an October sweep at the hands of the Gophers (22-1-1-0, 28-1-1) in Minneapolis. The first game will be at LaBahn Arena on Friday night starting at 7 p.m.
The highlight of the weekend will come in the Fill the Bowl game at the Kohl Center Saturday night which will also drop the puck at 7 p.m.
Wisconsin is looking to break its previous NCAA attendance record of 12,402 set in 2012 in the third-ever Fill the Bowl game vs. Bemidji State. Due to overwhelming popularity, tickets to this event are now extremely limited. Fans who do not have tickets are encouraged to buy tickets in advance. All tickets are $1.
The first 800 UW Madison students with valid student ID will receive free admission at the door. Students are encouraged to arrive to the Kohl Center early as limited space is available in the arena. Doors open at 6 p.m.
All fans attending are encouraged to donate nonperishable food items at the game to benefit Second Harvest Foodbank help fight hunger in southern Wisconsin.
"It will be a very entertaining game," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "It will feature two high-powered and explosive teams, and obviously stakes will be large."
Larger crowds are expected for the rivalry series which also happen to be Wisconsin’s last home games of the regular season.
"Playing in front of that many fans is amazing, especially for a women's sport where we don't have too many experiences quite like that," senior assistant captain Madison Packer said. "The atmosphere and energy that starts pumping when you get all those people in the Kohl to cheer us on is pretty incredible.”
Senior Alex Rigsby, the winningest goaltender in Wisconsin history, also has found memories of the Fill the Bowl games she's played in.
"My freshman year we had our Fill the Bowl game against Minnesota and we had a ton of fans," Rigsby said. "I had never played in front a crowd that big before, so it was exciting to see all of the fans there, especially for warm ups. There was a ton of energy in the building.
The entire Badger team is looking forward to the border battle, which has seen some great contests in the past as well as across several sports, including the men’s hockey team sweeping Minnesota last weekend.
