Fresh off its latest sweep, the Wisconsin women's hockey team is cruising.

The Badgers swept conference opponent Bemidji State by scores of 4-2 and 3-1 this weekend. The sweep improved Wisconsin's record to 23-2-1 and gives the Badgers a six-point lead in the conference. Bemidji State fell to 6-20-2.

In Sunday's contest, Wisconsin and Bemidji State went scoreless through the first half of the game until UW captain Sharon Cole netted her 12th goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Sara Bauer and freshman defender Alycia Matthews.

The Badgers quickly followed up with another goal two minutes later. With just under a minute remaining on the power play, Bauer and junior defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar cycled the puck down to junior defender Meaghan Mikkelson, who had pinched down towards the net. Mikkelson's quick shot easily beat Bemidji State goaltender Jill Luebke.

Bemidji State would answer back with their only goal of the game when freshman defender Allison Johanson scored at the end of the second period. It was her third goal of the season.

Wisconsin senior forward Nikki Burish tacked on the final goal of the game just a minute and a half into the third period, pushing the final score to 3-1. Skating into the offensive zone, Burish picked her way through the defense and scored from right outside the crease. Burish whiffed on the first attempt before recovering and putting the puck past Luebke.

"I was very pleased with the effort from start to finish," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "We had a lot of energy and we created a lot of opportunities to score, although we didn't take advantage of some of those opportunities in the first period [of Sunday's game]."

Saturday's game was no different. Freshman forward Erika Lawler scored her seventh goal of the season at the end of the first period.

The two teams traded scores in the second period. Bauer gave the Badgers a 2-0 lead with a goal, but Bemidji State's Jenn Sadler answered back, scoring her first goal of the season.

Cole, along with freshman forward Angie Keseley, opened up the scoring in the third period, with the two netting goals just three minutes apart. Keseley finished with a goal and an assist in the series, giving her 24 points on the season, while Cole has totaled 30 points on the season.

Bemidji State forward Aimee Collins scored her second goal of the season midway through the third period, but it wasn't enough to overcome Wisconsin's 4-2 lead.

Both games were dominated by the Badgers, who have always played well against Bemidji State. Wisconsin now holds a record of 28-1-1 all-time against the Beavers.

"We did get a little sloppy on defense a couple times, but they didn't get the puck in the net…and overall, I thought we played pretty well," Johnson said.

The series was also notable because Bauer netted three points, which ties her with Sis Paulsen, the current coach of Bemidji State, for the third-highest scorer in the program's history. Bauer has racked up 130 points in her first three years at UW.

With another 48 points, Bauer will take over the number one spot. The junior forward currently leads the nation in points scored with 42.

"She's what we call … the whole package," head coach Mark Johnson said. "She loves to go to school and she loves to play hockey, and she's very good at both. She comes prepared for practice and comes ready to play in the games … so it makes our job as coaches a lot easier."

Freshman Jessie Vetter got her third start of the season in Sunday's game and stopped 21 of 22 shots, performing well when tested repeatedly from close range. She now has earned three victories and no losses.

As the Badgers go into the final quarter of the season, they will face only their conference opponents for the rest of the regular season, which amplifies the importance of each series.

"Well, the objective is to get better," Johnson said. "And we're in the final stretch of the season and every team is trying their hardest, so you won't see any lopsided games … but everybody can see that light at the end of the tunnel, so every team is playing hard and jockeying for playoff position."

The Badgers will look to continue their success when they take on St. Cloud State this coming weekend.