The No. 1 ranked University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team (23-2-1, 13-2-1 WCHA) continues a four-game homestand this weekend as the St. Cloud State Huskies (5-18-4, 1-16-1) come to LaBahn Arena. 

The Badgers head into the weekend having won 23 straight games against the Huskies, one of their best win streaks of all time against a single opponent. Even with this being the case, the Badgers will still have to show up and play hard this weekend as they know they will be getting every opponent’s best shot down the stretch as the current No. 1 team in the national rankings.

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Coming into this match up, Wisconsin is averaging 4.7 goals per game, a mark that leads the conference by almost a full goal per game. Meanwhile, St. Cloud State only averages 1.9 goals per game, good for last in the conference. 

As for individual statistics, Daryl Watts is currently leading the conference with 55 points, while the Huskies leading scorer is Klára Hymlárová with only 19 points.

When it comes to goalkeeping, the Badgers also have a slight edge heading into the weekend series with the Huskies. Wisconsin starting goalie Kristen Campbell is coming off a pair of games against Minnesota in which she only surrendered four goals in two games.

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This is especially impressive given the fact that the Gophers average just under four goals per game. Campbell’s performance also included a 22 save shutout in Saturday’s contest. 

Campbell also owns the conference’s best win percentage and second best goals against average, serving as the backbone of a strong Wisconsin defensive core. For the Huskies, starting goalkeeper Emma Polusny has been solid in net, tallying the most total saves in the conference as well as accumulating an impressive 91.7% save rate. 

Though they have a heavy talent advantage over the Huskies, the Badgers will need to turn in a couple strong performances to sweep the weekend series and continue their conference play dominance as the No. 1 team in the country.

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There is little doubt that, at least on paper, Wisconsin should continue their dominant run against the Huskies. Yet, the Badgers were already upset once this season by Bemidji State, and any loss to a weaker opponent this late in the season could be detrimental to their national standing.