[media-credit name=’GREGORY DIXON/Herald Photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Things couldn't be going much better for the Wisconsin women's hockey team. Riding an 18-game winning streak dating back to last season, the Badgers have been cruising as of late.

They did, however, face a serious challenge last week against Ohio State, a team that had scored 16 goals in their first series this season against Northeastern. The Badgers (6-0-0, 4-0-0 Big Ten) are coming off a sweep of the Buckeyes, and Wisconsin will face an even tougher challenge this weekend when archrival Minnesota comes to Madison.

The Gophers (3-1-0, 2-0-0) will be coming out swinging in this series, eager to avenge their loss to Wisconsin last season in the national championship game. The fourth-ranked Gophers have to be salivating over the chance to dethrone the No. 1 ranked Badgers.

"It'll be two very intense games," UW head coach Mark Johnson said. "You have two quality teams going up against each other who play a similar type style (of hockey) … so it should make for a fun weekend."

"I think it's going to be very intense," senior defender Bobbi-Jo Slusar said. "I think Minnesota is our biggest challenge within the WCHA. Obviously, every team is a challenge, but Minnesota especially (is). They're going to be hungry, and they're going to want to come back and challenge us [because of] us beating them in the Frozen Four (last season)."

Wisconsin will look to keep the momentum going on special teams, as the power play has really heated up recently. The Badgers are converting almost 35 percent of power play chances into goals and had four goals on the power play in eight opportunities against Ohio State.

"Early in the season … it's nice to have your special teams working well," Johnson said. "I thought we did a good job of keeping the puck in the offensive zone … some nights you're going to get four or five or six power plays and if you can score on them, it's certainly going to help your chances of winning."

"We were able to move the puck really well and … [create] opportunities," junior forward Jinnelle Zaugg added. "(Defenders Meaghan) Mikkelson and Slusar were able to get good shots off and the rebounds popped out, and if you're lucky [the rebounds] end up on your stick."

Zaugg has been the workhorse of both the offense and powerplay so far this season. She has already racked up seven points (five goals with two assists) on just the power play. Overall, Zaugg has accumulated 12 points (eight goals with four assists), which leads the conference in total points scored.

While the power play has been hot, Johnson expressed his concerns over the penalty kill, which has allowed five goals thus far this season.

"We're going to work on our penalty kill some more," Johnson said.

"There are a few things we can do," Slusar said. "Just having our heads on a swivel … knowing what your surroundings are and what the situation is. And it will come, it's just about getting those penalty kill opportunities."

The Badgers' offense and power play could do well against the Gophers' sophomore goaltender Brittony Chartier. Chartier has allowed 11 goals in four games played, albeit six of those goals came during a 6-5 overtime loss to New Hampshire.

Chartier holds a poor save percentage of just .857, which is the second-worst in the conference, and has a goals against average of 2.72.

The goaltending duties for Wisconsin will in all probability be split again between sophomore netminder Jessie Vetter and senior Christine Dufour. They have split each series this season and both have records of 3-0. Vetter holds a slightly better save percentage with .929 compared to Dufour's .925, while their goals against average is identical.

Whatever goaltending woes the Gophers might have is made up for by a strong offensive attack, averaging 4.75 goals per game, while the Badgers' offense is averaging four goals per game.

The special teams are pretty balanced for this weekend. The Badgers have boasted a better power play but a weaker penalty kill compared to the Gophers, but hold a strong advantage in average penalty minutes per game. Wisconsin has the fewest penalties per game in the conference, exactly 6.5 fewer than Minnesota, which should allow the power play to see plenty of action.

Knowing the history between the two teams, especially considering this is the first meeting since Wisconsin's victory over their border rival for the national title, this series could shape up into a fun one to watch.

The action starts Saturday at the Kohl Center. The puck drops at 2:07 p.m.