University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers and Badgers Set to Battle At Ridder
11/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN COMPETE IN BORDER BATTLE
The University of Minnesota women’s hockey team hosts the University of Wisconsin, Friday and Saturday night at Ridder Arena. The Golden Gophers and Badgers will square up at 6:07 p.m. on Friday night, while competing in a 4:07 contest Saturday. The Gopher men’s hockey team also plays Wisconsin at 7:07 p.m., both nights.
FOLLOWING THE GOPHERS
Minnesota will have a live video and audio feed for the Friday game against Wisconsin on its website, gophersports.com. Saturday’s game came be found on video/audio feed via the BigTenNetwork.com, while audio is also available on gophersports.com. Both games will also have a live in-game blog on gophersports.com as well.
BURST THE BUS FOR SECOND HARVEST HEARTLAND
The University of Minnesota Athletics department will be holding a “Burst the Bus” food drive on Friday and Saturday. For the doubleheader for women’s and men’s hockey, the athletics department will have its M.A.G.I.C. bus (Maroon and Gold Impacting the Community) located between Mariucci and Ridder Arena. The Gophers are looking for canned or non-perishable food donations for Second Harvest Heartland.
ON THE DOCKET
Minnesota is idle next weekend as the Gophers have five student-athletes competing at the Four Nation’s Cup, Nov. 9-13. Sarah Erickson, Amanda Kessel and Anne Schleper will compete with Team USA, while Noora Raty and Mira Jalosuo will compete with Team Finland. Following the break, Minnesota will travel to Minnesota State, Nov. 19-20 with a 7 p.m. Friday game and a 3 p.m. afternoon tilt. Minnesota’s next home action comes on Thanksgiving weekend as the Gophers host Harvard, Nov. 26 and 28.
THE SERIES
The Golden Gophers hold a 27-22-6 mark all time against the Wisconsin Badgers, dating back to January 1999. Last season against UW, Minnesota was swept in the series at Madison, Wis., by scores of 4-2 and 5-2. The two teams then closed the regular season when Minnesota and Wisconsin split the series. The Badgers earned a 4-3 overtime win on Feb. 19, but the Gophers followed with a 3-2 come-from-behind win the next day. The win solidified the Gophers as co-WCHA regular season champions, an honor they shared with Minnesota Duluth.
ABOUT THE BADGERS
The Wisconsin Badgers enter the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, posting a perfect 8-0-0 start to the season. Winning three-straight WCHA series, UW has gained sweeps over Bemidji State (Oct. 8-9), Ohio State (Oct. 22-23) and Minnesota State (Oct. 29-30). Wisconsin has four players already in double digits (Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight, Meghan Duggan and Brooke Ammerman), while another with nine points (Brittany Ammerman).
DID YOU KNOW?
Junior defenseman Anne Schleper ranks at the top of the WCHA in defensive scoring. In overall statistics, Schleper has eight points, seven of which has come against conference opponents. Kelly Terry and Sarah Davis have led the WCHA rookies in freshmen scoring, Terry has eight points against conference opponents, while Davis is right behind her with seven.
WCHA STANDINGS
Wisconsin enters the Minnesota series at the top of the WCHA standings with 18 points, followed by Minnesota Duluth with 15 and North Dakota with 12. Minnesota, Ohio State and Bemidji State are all tied for fourth with six points. Minnesota State and St. Cloud State round out the bottom half of the league.
