Nearing the end of a six-game road stretch, top-ranked Wisconsin (5-0-1 WCHA, 7-0-1 overall) heads to Mankato, Minn., to take on Minnesota State (0-5-1, 2-5-1) this weekend.
The Badgers are coming off of a sweep at then-No. 9 North Dakota. Senior forward Sarah Nurse had an impressive series, tallying five goals—including four in Sunday’s finale—earning her WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors.
UW needed two third-period goals to beat the Fighting Hawks Saturday. Junior forward Emily Clark scored what would eventually be the winning goal, and Nurse added an empty-netter in the Badgers’ 2-0 victory. Senior goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens stopped all 16 shots for her 41st career shutout, two short of tying the NCAA record.
On Sunday, Nurse picked up right where she left off, lighting the lamp four times, becoming just the fourth Badger to reach that mark in program history. Junior defenseman Lauren Williams added her first goal of the season in UW’s 5-2 win in the series finale.
The Badgers will be without junior forward Annie Pankowski for the next two series as she practices with the United States national team.
Last weekend, Minnesota State hosted St. Cloud State and went 0-1-1, tying one game, 2-2, and falling in the second, 6-0.
Minnesota State returns 18 players, including four seniors, from last season’s 3-29-4 team and was projected to finish last in the WCHA this season by coaches. The Mavericks are led by senior goalie Brianna Quade. Offensively, MSU has struggled, having scored just 10 goals this season. Sophomore forward Emily Antony and sophomore defenseman Megan Hinze are tied for the team lead in goals with two apiece.
“I think Minnesota State is going to give us a good weekend,” Williams told UWBadgers.com. “Every single team is going to give us their best game, and I think they’ll give us a great game.”
“They’re another team that likes to clog the middle, they know how to block shots,” Nurse said of the Maverick defense. “I’m expecting another game that it’s going to be tough to get pucks through the net, so that’s one thing that we’re going to have to focus on.”
The puck drops Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m.
