Women’s Hockey faces tough test in No. 1 Wisconsin
After going 4-2-1 during the month of January, the Bemidji State University women’s hockey team faces the top-ranked team in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national polls in University of Wisconsin to begin the month of February. The Beavers (9-15-2, 6-8-2-0 WCHA) play host to the Badgers (23-3-0, 13-3-0-0 WCHA) for a two-game, Western Collegiate Hockey Association Feb. 1-2 at Sanford Center.
The Beavers and Badgers clash for the 83rd and 84th meetings in the all-time series and the final series of the regular season. Wisconsin dominates the all-time series with a 73-5-4 record and Bemidji State is just 1-34-3 at home. The Badgers are currently on a 17-game unbeaten streak (16-0-1) against the Beavers. BSU’s last win came Jan. 16, 2015 in Madison by a score of 2-1. The Beavers and Badger met earlier this season for a two-game series in Madison Nov. 16-17. BSU didn’t score a goal in the series and was outscored 8-0. In five seasons with the Beavers, Jim Scanlan holds a 1-17-0 record against the Badgers while Mark Johnson is 59-4-2 in 17 seasons against BSU.
Senior Emily Bergland leads all active skaters with six career points (3g-3a) in 15 games against the Badgers while Jacqueline Kaasa, Paige Beebe and Clair DeGeorge each have recorded three points. Sophomore Kerigan Dowhy has seen the most action against the Badgers and in five games, she has a 0-3-1 record with a 3.29 goals against average and .913 save percentage.
Wisconsin enters the weekend’s action voted as the No. 1 team in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national polls and boast a 23-3-0 record overall. UW has earned the top spot in each both the polls for 12 consecutive weeks. The Badgers are second in league standings with 39 points and are 13-3-0-0 in league games. The top-ranked Badgers hosted St. Cloud State University the previous weekend and swept the Huskies by scores of 5-0 and 3-1. Freshman Sophie Shirley led the Badgers with four points (1g-3a) in the series while Alexis Mauermann, Britta Curl and Annie Pankowski each recorded three points.