[media-credit name=’MEGHAN CONLIN/Herald Photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Wisconsin women's hockey team, currently the No. 1-ranked team in the country, is on top of its game right now, with an unbeaten streak of 12 games.

They will need to keep that same focus and drive if they want to extend that streak when they take on St. Cloud State this weekend. St. Cloud is riding a lot of momentum after sweeping their past two series, one against lowly North Dakota and the other against No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth.

"Well, they're obviously playing with a lot of confidence after having four-straight wins," UW head coach Mark Johnson said of St. Cloud State. "It's a good time to be challenged. It's a good opportunity for our hockey club to go on the road and play against some really good competition … against a team that is confident and playing well, [so we'll] see how well we respond."

St. Cloud senior forward Kristy Oonincx and junior goaltender Lauri St. Jacques both received Player of the Week honors for their roles in sweeping Minnesota-Duluth last weekend.

Oonincx netted three goals, including both game-winning goals, and an assist in the series. She now has 34 points on the season, good for third in the conference.

"I think we can all skate with her," junior defender Meaghan Mikkelson said of Oonincx. "We've played against her before and we know how she plays. If we all just focus on our own performance rather than watching her skate around, we'll do just fine."

St. Jacques registered 81 saves out of 83 shots faced over the weekend. She has earned victories in each of her last three starts and her season record stands at 6-8-1.

"All we need to do is take shots," Badger team captain Sharon Cole said. "We need take all the shots we need to and then crash the net for rebounds."

Johnson also recognizes that the special teams will be a key factor in the series. St. Cloud and Wisconsin have showcased nearly identical powerplay performances, with the Huskies converting 21 percent of their man-advantage opportunities, best in the conference, as Wisconsin stands as a close second with 20 percent.

"The powerplay and special teams will be big factors in this series," Johnson said. "[The special teams] are doing pretty good … but sometimes your powerplay can [be] doing well but you don't score … our penalty killing is very strong, and [the special teams] are going to have [to] be even stronger to win this series."

The Badgers do hold a slight advantage over the Huskies in penalty killing. St. Cloud's penalty kill has 81 percent effectiveness, which is the second worst in the conference. On the other hand, Wisconsin's penalty kill is third-best in the conference, fighting off 86 percent of their shorthanded attempts.

Other factors play into special teams as well. Wisconsin is the least-penalized team in the conference with an average of fewer than 10 penalty minutes per game. St. Cloud State averages more than 11 minutes a game.

St. Cloud's powerplay is dependent on the success of three primary players. Oonincx, senior forward Ashley Stewart and junior forward Hailey Clarkson are three of the top four powerplay point producers in the conference. UW junior forward Sara Bauer and junior defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar are both in the top seven.

Bauer will likely be a big part of Wisconsin's special teams' success. She leads the conference in total points, ranks second in shorthanded goals, and is tied for first in game-winning goals with six.

And like Cole pointed out, the team needs to work on collecting rebounds and cashing in on those second chances. Sophomore forward Jinnelle Zaugg will be the one looking to cash in rebounds left in front of the net. Zaugg's combination of talent and size make her ideal for loitering around the opponent's net waiting for a rebound to pop up.

"She has a long reach and a quick shot," Cole said. "That's part of the reason why she's so effective."

"She's been scoring goals and she had a good rookie season and was able to score some goals last year," Johnson said. "She has the opportunity to be playing out there with Bauer and Cole, and fill the void that [graduate Lindsay Macy] left. She's creating opportunities and making the most of those. Hopefully [the puck] will keep going in for her."

Wisconsin may be the No.1-ranked team in the country and St. Cloud State may only have a record of 12-13-1, but the Huskies' surge in momentum makes them dangerous.

Because in hockey, as in all sports, momentum can make all the difference.