No. 2 Badgers meet No. 8 North Dakota in critical WCHA showdown

The No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team looks for redemption this weekend as they host No. 8 North Dakota, the only team to hand UW a loss this season, in a Saturday/Sunday showdown at LaBahn Arena. Faceoff on Saturday is set for 2 p.m. with Sunday's series finale starting at 1 p.m.

No. 2 Wisconsin (22-1-1) vs. No. 8 North Dakota (13-6-3)
Date	Saturday, Jan. 23 \| 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan, 24 \| 1 p.m.
Location	M adison, Wisconsin \| LaBahn Arena
Radio	The Mic 92. 1 FM
Video	Saturday Video \| Sunday Video
Stats	Stats
Live Coverage	Saturday Blog \| Sunday Blog
Promotions	Youth Hockey Weekend
Twitter	@BadgerWHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin \| North Dakota

Team Notes
UW enters the weekend leading the country in scoring defense with a goals-against average of 0.62.The Cardinal and White also ranks fourth in the country scoring offense averaging 4.21 goals per contest.

The Badgers lead the NCAA in penalty killing with a .956 clip. UW has killed 65 of its 68 penalties, and has scored six short-handed goals in 24 games. Last season, UW set the NCAA record for penalty killing with a .958 clip.

Player Notes
Annie Pankowski leads the team with 22 assists and 38 points this season, and her 16 goals rank second on the team. Pankowski ranks eighth in the nation for points per game, averaging 1.58 points per contest, while her three short-handed goals are tied for the nations lead.

Sophomore Emily Clark has notched 14 goals and 12 assists this season, averaging 1.18 points per game. She's tallied three game-winning goals this season, her latest coming last weekend at Bemidji State, where she notched four points on the weekend, earning herself WCHA Offensive Player of the Week accolades.

Junior Sarah Nurse ranks seventh in the country for goals per game, averaging 0.85 goals per contest. Her 17 goals lead all Badgers, as well as ranking third all-WCHA. The Hamilton, Ontario, native also ranks third nationally in game-winning goals with four.

Ann-Renée Desbiens leads the nation in save percentage (.961) and goals-against average (0.69). She is also tied for the country's lead in shutouts with 11. Last season the La Malbaie, Quebec, native tied a UW record with 14 shutouts.Desbiens also has 28 career shutouts, which ranks third in program history and is the sixth-best mark in NCAA history.

Junior Jenny Ryan holds the second-place rank in the country's defensemen in points per game, averaging 1.04 points per contest. Ryan's 25 points this season are a career high, coming from five goals and 20 assists. She also has tallied three game-winning goals this season.

Senior Courtney Burke is fourth in the country in points among defensemen, averaging 0.96 points per contest. Her 96 career points are the third-most in program history among defensemen.Burke is four points away from becoming the third blue-liner in school history to reach 100 career points.

Number of the week
16 - After their 3-1 win on Sunday, the Badgers have won their last 16 games at LaBahn Arena, which is a program-best mark. Wisconsin's last loss at their barn came in Feb. 20, 2015 against St. Cloud State. Tough to beat at home, the team has a 55-10-3 record at LaBahn Arena. During the run, UW has trailed only 4 minutes and 38 seconds of play.

Parking Information
Free parking is available for Wisconsin women's hockey fans for both games this weekend in Lot 91, which is located to the east of the Kohl Center. With the UW men's hockey team playing on Saturday night, women's hockey fans that park in Lot 91 will need to leave the lot following the conclusion of the women's contest.

The Series vs. North Dakota
The Badgers lead the all-time series with the Fighting Hawks 43-7-4.

In Madison, UW leads the all-time series 24-2-0 and UW holds a 5-1-0 against UND at LaBahn Arena.

UND took the series in Grand Forks earlier this year, beating UW 3-0 on Dec. 11 before the two teams settled for a tie on Dec. 12. The Badgers won the shootout, 2-0, to take the extra league point.

The two teams met in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals last year as the Badgers grounded the Fighting Hawks, 4-1, to advance to the WCHA title game.

Clark Honored as WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
For the second time this year, Wisconsin women's hockey sophomore Emily Clark was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday.

Clark played an instrumental role in the No. 2 Badgers' sweep of then-No. 6 Bemidji State, as Clark assisted on Jenny Ryan's game winner in UW's 1-0 win over the Beavers on Friday before tallying two goals and an assist in Wisconsin's 7-1 win on Saturday. Clark's first goal on Saturday proved to be the game winner, her third game-winning tally of the year.

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native's four points last weekend were a league high and she finished the weekend with a +4 plus/minus rating, also tops in the league.

On the season, Clark has 14 goals, which ranks third on the team, and 12 assists for 26 points. She has appeared in 22 of UW's 24 games, missing a pair of games to play for the Canadian National Team at the Four Nations Cup in November.

This is Clark's second WCHA weekly award of the 2015-16 season and her third career accolade.

Last time vs. North Dakota: Wisconsin 0, North Dakota 0 (Dec. 12, 2015)
The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team collected its first tie of the season, as the Badgers and No. 9 North Dakota skated to a 0-0 draw at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Wisconsin won the shootout as sophomore Annie Pankowski scored on the team's first attempt before junior Sydney McKibbon lit the lamp on UW's final attempt of the three-round shootout to take the extra point in the WCHA standings.

The Wisconsin defense played a large role in the stalemate, as the Badgers outshot the Fighting Hawks 41-17, however neither team was able to capitalize in regulation time or the overtime period.

Junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens earned her 10th shutout of the year, stopping all 17 shots she encountered.

The teams battled through the three scoreless periods, creating numerous scoring opportunities but both squads were unable to convert. The Wisconsin penalty kill fought off two Fighting Hawk advantages.

After 65 scoreless minutes, the game officially ended in a tie but went into a three-player shootout to decide which team would earn the extra conference point.

Pankowski's backhand shot slid underneath UND net minder Shelby Amsley-Benzie, hitting the post and trickling into the net. Initially waved off, the goal was reviewed and awarded to the Badgers.

Anna Kilponen and Meghan Dufault attempted shots for UND, while junior Sarah Nurse shot for the Badgers, but all were unsuccessful.

McKibbon took Wisconsin's final attempt, skating in and shooting a dagger between Amsley-Benzie's legs for the shootout victory.

Last Time Out: Wisconsin 7, Bemidji State 1 (Jan. 16, 2016)
On a frigid Saturday afternoon on the shores of Lake Bemidji, the No. 2 Wisconsin women's hockey team was firing on all cylinders, scoring seven goals to defeat No. 6 Bemidji State, 7-1, at the Sanford Center.

The Badgers (22-1-1, 16-1-1 WCHA) had five different players notch goals in the contest, including Emily Clark and Sarah Nurse who each tallied a pair of gols in the win. After scoring only one goal in Friday's matchup, Wisconsin collected goals from all four of its lines as well as outshooting the Beavers (15-7-2, 10-7-1 WCHA) 44-17.

UW netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens collected 16 saves in the win, improving her goals-against average to .69 and her save percentage to .961 this season, which both rank first nationally.

Nurse tabbed the Badgers' first of three goals in the first frame when she split the BSU defensemen and shot a wrister right past Beaver goaltender Brittni Mowat.

Shortly after, Clark notched two goals in three minutes to give Wisconsin the 3-0 lead heading into intermission. Her first score came after sophomore line mate Baylee Wellhausen forced a turnover in front of Mowat, giving Clark the puck and a wide-open lane past Mowat.

Clark's second goal came with just over two minutes to play in the first period, when Clark sniped the puck over Mowat's shoulder from below the circle. Clark averages 1.18 points per game for the Badgers this season, with 14 goals and 12 assists.

The Badgers' offense did not slow their charge in period two, tabbing three more goals in a 90-second span. Nurse notched her second goal of the afternoon four minutes into the period, crashing in on Mowat and poking the puck out from underneath her and into the net.

Sophomore Baylee Wellhausen scored her fourth goal of the season less than a minute later with a one-touch redirection of the pass from freshman defenseman Mikaela Gardner.

After Wisconsin's fifth goal, BSU substituted Mowat for junior goaltender Mackenzie Bruch, but the change up didn't faze Wisconsin as senior Rachel Jones sniped a shot from the face-off dot to give the Badgers the 6-0 lead.

Wisconsin capitalized on numerous Beavers' mistakes, holding BSU to only three shots on goal in the second stanza.

The Beavers were able to tally a goal late in the third period when Kristin Huber was able to tap a pass past Desbiens, but Mikayla Johnson responded with a goal in the last minute of play to keep the Badgers' six-goal margin. Captain Courtney Burke drew Bruch and BSU defense wide, then passed to Johnson who was able to redirect the puck into the net.

Koch recognized as AHCA Assistant Coach of the Year
Wisconsin women's hockey associate head coach Dan Koch was named the American Hockey Coaches Association Women's Hockey Assistant Coach of the Year, as announced by the group on Thursday.

A Madison native, Koch is in his fifth season as the Badgers' associate head coach after serving eight years as an assistant coach, amassing a 367-81-35 (.796) record behind the bench. Koch has assisted the Badgers to seven NCAA Frozen Fours and saw the team win three of their four national titles.

Koch oversees the stingy UW defense, which has ranked among the top-three teams nationally for scoring defense in 11 of his 12 seasons with the Badgers. That includes the 2006-07 squad that set the NCAA record with a 0.88 goals-against average. His defensemen have led the NCAA in scoring defense in three different seasons.

This season, Koch helped the Badgers set the NCAA men's and women's shutout record, tallying nine-consecutive shutouts that spanned over 624 minutes between Oct. 3 and Nov. 14. The Badgers have recorded shutouts in 12 of their 22 games this season and have a goals-against average of 0.64 to pace the country.

Koch also plays a part in the team's penalty kill, which has led the NCAA four of his 12 seasons. Last year, the UW penalty kill set the NCAA record with a .958 clip.

Koch will be recognized on April 29 during the 2016 AHCA Convention in Naples, Florida.

Badgers sign seven for 2016-17 season
The Wisconsin women's hockey program and head coachMark Johnson announced the signing of seven student-athletes for the 2016-17 season on Tuesday.

Joining the Badgers next fall are goaltenders Alyson Baldwin (Richmond, Texas) and Nicole Cece (Oakville, Ontario), forwards Alexis Mauermann (Janesville, Wisconsin),Presley Norby (Shorewood, Minnesota) and Abby Roque (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) and defensemen Maddie Rowe (River Falls, Wisconsin) and MeKenzie Steffen (Centerville, Minnesota).

"It's a big class," Johnson said. "It's probably one or two players bigger than what we normally have, but with eight seniors graduating we need to fill positions and bring kids in who are capable of playing next year and helping the team. In saying that, you look at the group and whether in net, on the blue line or up front, there's a lot of exciting players and kids who have experienced good things at their respective club and high school teams but also at the national and international level."

Between the seven players, five have represented their respective countries at international events, including Norby, who played earlier this month for the United States National Team at the 2015 Four Nations Cup, helping Team USA win gold.

Learn more about the class here.

Note of the Week
After scoring seven goals against Bemidji State last weekend, the Badgers totalled 101 goals on the season so far. With senior Rachel Jones's third-period score, Wisconsin became the fourth team in the NCAA to score 100 goals this season, joining Minnesota, Boston College, and Northeastern.

The Quest for 400
Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson enters this weekend with a 382-72-35 record in his 13 years on the UW bench. His 382 wins are the fourth-most in NCAA Division I women's hockey history.

The other three coaches to reach 350 wins at the NCAA Division I level are Katey Stone (Harvard), Michael Sisti (Mercyhurst) and Shannon Miller (Minnesota Duluth).

Johnson only needs two wins to pass former UMD bench boss Shannon Miller for third on the all-time list.