The No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (12-1-1, 6-1-1 WCHA) head to Minnesota to take on St. Cloud State (3-8-1, 0-8-0) at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center this weekend.
The team is looking to continue their winning ways after getting back on track last weekend with a sweep of Minnesota State. The Badgers defeated the Mavericks by convincing scores of 3–2 and 6–1. This weekend should theoretically see the Badgers extend their winning streak to four, as SCSU has failed to perform well this season.
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They have failed to win a single in-conference game thus far in the regular season. The Huskies’ best win this season was a 5–1 defeat of Lindenwood, who the Badgers thumped in their meetings this season with consecutive wins of 4–0 and 6–2.
Historically, Wisconsin has dominated SCSU, holding a record of 78-10-2 all-time in addition to maintaining a 21-game win streak over the Huskies. If the Badgers were to complete a sweep this weekend, it would break Wisconsin’s largest winning streak over SCSU.
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The current longest win streak for Wisconsin is a 22-game streak that spanned from 2010 to 2014. This winning streak will be hard to break for the Huskies given the Badgers’ dominance so far this season.
Arguably, the biggest key to Wisconsin’s success has been junior Daryl Watts, who currently leads the team in points with 34. Just behind Watts are Abby Roque and Sophie Shirley, each having scored 28 points on the year.
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Look for goaltender Kristin Campbell to also have a stellar performance, as her save percentage of .928 has been a large help in quelling opposing offenses. Campbell’s 1.32 goals allowed per game is also enough to capture the No. 6 spot nationally in that statistic. While strong defense certainly plays a role in this statistic, Campbell’s performance has been strong in its own right.
On paper, Wisconsin has all the tools necessary to dominate St. Cloud State as they look to continue their trend of sweeping conference opponents.