Recap
Wisconsin is coming off its first victory at the Winter Carnival since 2000, after it tied Michigan Tech 1-1 on Friday and beat the Huskies 4-1 in the series finale Saturday.
The Badgers were led by junior goalie Shane Connelly, who made 46 saves on 48 shots over the two games. Connelly was named the Winter Carnival's Most Valuable Player, giving him the privilege of kissing the Winter Carnival Queen.
Wisconsin scored on the power play when sophomore forward Michael Davies scored Saturday's first goal. The Badgers have now scored on the man advantage in five straight series, a stark contrast to the eight-percent success rate Wisconsin had in conference games before the Denver series.
The Badgers moved up to No. 11 in the USCHO.com PairWise Rankings. Traditionally, the top 14 teams in the PairWise make the 16-team NCAA Tournament, so Wisconsin has some breathing room.
Minnesota State won its fifth and sixth straight games when it swept Alaska-Anchorage in Mankato, Minn. last weekend. The Mavericks beat the Seawolves 3-1 on Friday, and scored the first four goals of Saturday's game before Anchorage scored twice en route to a 4-2 State victory. The Mavericks moved up to eighth in the PairWise Rankings.
Preview
Last time Wisconsin played at home it attempted to settle a fourth place WCHA tie with Minnesota-Duluth. This time around the scenario is similar, except this series features Minnesota State.
Senior weekend in Madison will be overshadowed by underclassmen, as last weekend the Badgers were led by four freshman goals and one by the sophomore Davies.
Connelly continues to provide solid goaltending for Wisconsin and has become an elite WCHA netminder in the last two months. He has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his last 12 performances and now has a 2.19 goals against average and .921 save percentage in conference games.
Minnesota State comes in as a much different team on the road compared to at home. The Mavericks have been outscored 34-19 away from Mankato this season in the WCHA, while they are 7-3-2 at home in conference play.
Maverick junior goaltender Mike Zacharias has a 2.18 GAA and .919 save percentage in conference games. Up front, the Mavericks are led by sophomore forward Trevor Bruess, who leads Minnesota State with 18 points in WCHA games.
If either team skates away from this weekend with a sweep, it would have an easier path to next month's NCAA Tournament. The loser would have a steep uphill climb.
