No bigger stage could be set for the Wisconsin women’s hockey team’s home opener.

“It’s going to be a great experience; you only get one chance to open up a building,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “It’s going to be a special night.”

The team will face off against Bemidji State in the inaugural game of the brand-new LaBahn Arena Friday night. All 2,273 seats will be filled with fans eager to witness the first 60 minutes of hockey on the Lance Johnson Memorial Rink.

While the Badgers have practiced and used their new locker room since Oct. 1, it still remains a new world for the team.

When UW takes the ice Friday, players will be stepping into a new era of women’s hockey. The excitement can be read on the face of every player and coach at practice this week as they anticipate what this unknown territory will hold.

“Nobody knows what kind of atmosphere it’s going to be like,” Johnson said. “But it will be fun to see how the players react under the settings and the atmosphere.”

The excitement over the new facility may be foreshadowing for the actual event taking place: a pair of hockey games. The Badgers will take on the Beavers as the team looks to make up for two early season losses in Duluth last weekend.

Despite being shutout by the Bulldogs, Johnson said he remains upbeat and pleased about what he is seeing from his team. Chances weren’t absent for UW past weekend. The Badgers outshot UMD 56-45 in the two-game series, with 31 of those shots coming in the 2-0 loss in game one.

For senior forward and captain Brianna Decker, remaining positive and constructive is important to keep the team focused.

“We had a great weekend, just not able to put the net, but you just have to move on from that,” Decker said. “We’ve put the puck in the net before and so we have to look at the positive from last weekend and not that we were shut out.”

Bemidji State is no stranger to big games on the road at Wisconsin. Playing against UW at last year’s “Fill the Bowl,” and in the Camp Randall Classic three years ago, the Beavers will now try and spoil opening day at LaBahn.

Offensively, Bemidji State returns all but one of its forwards. This team possesses experience and consistency, something the Badgers are still working to achieve with eight freshmen on their roster. However, the Beavers lost their starting goaltender from last season and have given up 12 goals in their first four games.

Against the Beavers, Wisconsin won all four games last year, but at home competition remained close. UW won both games by a single score. The Badgers are not overlooking their opponent but said they believe the outcome rests on their own effort.

“[Bemidji State] plays very aggressive; they put a lot of pressure on the puck and depending on how we handle that and execute will dictate the scoring opportunities,” Johnson said. “When you score it gets everybody going and gets the fans involved. It’s a lot of energy so if we can come out in the first period and do that, it will be real positive.”

The hype around LaBahn undoubtedly gives Wisconsin plenty of energy and excitement heading into the weekend, but with any other big event, it also comes with every coach’s nightmare: distraction. A grin spread across Johnson’s face as he explained his desire to avoid any distraction that may keep his players unfocused. He has reminded the team to take care of everything before Friday so that when game time rolls around, storming the ice is the only thing on their minds.

What should be UW’s focus is getting the puck into the back of the net.

Wisconsin graduated three of its top four scorers last season whose combined 92 goals accounted for 51 percent of the team’s scoring. Now a Badger alum, Hilary Knight holds program records in career goals, shots, short-handed goals, game-winning goals and hat tricks.

Decker has now taken on Knight’s role as UW’s key threat for any opponent’s defense. While the competitive and hardworking captain will likely remain the team’s top scorer, the attention teams place on stopping her will open up doors for other forwards to make their mark.

“We still have Decker but she needs other people; she can’t score all our goals,” sophomore forward Katy Josephs said. “It’s definitely opened our eyes that people need to step up and it’s going to be a different year than last year.”

The puck will drop Friday at 7 p.m., following an inauguration ceremony that will take place after the teams’ warm-up period. The teams will face off again Sunday at 2 p.m.

This weekend will offer each player the opportunity to make a lasting mark on women’s hockey. As for Decker, she said she hopes fans are shocked several times throughout the weekend by the shrill of one of the arena’s more fun features.

“The air horn when you score, it’s pretty loud,” Decker smiled as she described her favorite component of the LaBahn facility. “We tried it out in practice and I think the fans are going to be surprised. Hopefully they hear it a few times.”