Fresh off a home sweep of St. Cloud State, No. 1 Wisconsin (15-2-1 WCHA, 20-2-1 overall) looks to continue to flex its high-powered offense against North Dakota (9-5-4, 12-7-5).
The Badgers outscored St. Cloud State 11-0 in the series, including seven goals from forwards Emily Clark (4) and Annie Pankowski (3).
"We've been having a lot of success offensively throughout all of our lines," Clark, who was named the WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, told UWBadgers.com. "I don't think there were any major adjustments, but I think having a lot of success at the end of the first half and the start of the second will be huge for us moving forward."
This past weekend also marked the return of All-American goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens from a lower-body injury she suffered back in December while with Team Canada.
"I'm really excited to be back," Desbiens, who was also honored by the WCHA as its Defensive Player of the Week, said. "It was way more fun to be able to be on the ice with my teammates than in the training room."
North Dakota enters the weekend series sitting in fourth place in the WCHA after sweeping Minnesota State 3-2 and 4-0. The Badgers and Fighting Hawks last met in October as UW swept the series on the road.
"Every game we've played against North Dakota since I've been here has been tight and intense," Clark said. "We're expecting a physical and fast-paced series this weekend."
"North Dakota is always hard to play against," Desbiens added. "They are physical and they will be working hard. Everyone wants to beat us, so they won't be any different."
The puck drops at LaBahn Arena Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.
