BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bemidji State University Women's Hockey team has an early matchup this week and travels to No. 5/4 University of Wisconsin for a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday. The Beavers (2-5-1, 0-4-0 WCHA) face their fourth consecutive nationally ranked opponent in the Badgers (7-1-0, 4-0-0 WCHA). BSU and Wisconsin begin their series Thursday at LaBahn Arena and the close out the series Friday. Both games are scheduled for a 7 p.m., puck drop.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• Bemidji State enters the third week of WCHA play after falling in two home games against No. 1 Ohio State University this past weekend.
• The Beavers have now dropped their last four games and are 0-5-1 in their last six after starting the season 2-0-0.
• After falling 0-5 in the first game against the top-ranked Buckeyes, the Beavers tied the Buckyes 2-2 with 13:59 to play. However, Ohio State socred three unanswered goals in the final 9:28 to claim the 5-2 victory.
• Sophomores Kendra Fortin and Genevieve Hendrickson scored the lone goals for the Beaves over the weekend. For Fortin it was her first career goal while Hendrickson scored her second wearing the green and white.
• Adriana Van De Leest, Raeley Carney and Makenna Deering all added assists.
• Junior Hannah Hogenson saw a flurry of shots and stopped 79-of-87 shots for a .908 save percentage over the weekend.
• Hogenson leads the WCHA and is third in the nation with 233 saves this season. She has a save percentage of .900 on the season which is second in the league among goalies with 100 or more saves.
• Bemidji State is led on offense by sophomore defenseman Adriana Van De Leest who has totaled five points (5a) despite missing three games due to injury.
• She is followed by Raeley Carney (2g-1a), Taylor Nelson (2g-1a), Kendra Fortin (1g-2a), Gabbie Smith (1g-2a) and Paige Anderson (3a) who have each totaled three points.
• Nelson, Hendrickson Carney and Claire Vekich  lead the team with two goals with Carney pacing the team with her two goals on the power play.
• Bemidji State has scored on four of its 16 power-play opportunities this season to rank fourth in the WCHA with a percentage of .250.
• The Beavers' penalty kill has denied opponents of 20-of-25 chances, the most in the WCHA, and rank fifth in the league with a percentage of .800.
• Junior Gabbie Smith is fifth in the WCHA with 67 face-off wins and owns a .528 win percentage of on the draw. She is followed by Carney who has won 65 face-offs (.537) and Anderson with 64 (.485).
• Bemidji State is 4-84-5 when facing Wisconsin and 4-42-2 when playing in LaBahn Arena.
• Bemidji State last faced Wisconsin in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs last season where the Badgers bested the Beavers in two games to advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff. The Badgers earned a 2-1 victory in game on and then a 5-0 victory in game two.
• Bemidji State is led by senior Reece Hunt who has posted five points (1g-4a) in 12 career games versus Wisconsin with Makenna Deering following with two points (2a) in six games.
• Junior goaltender Hannah Hogenson is the lone netminder to have faced the Badgers and is 0-2-1 with one shutout in four games. She boasts a .930 save percentage against the Badgers and 3.60 goals against average and the best performance of her career so far came in a 56-save shutout of UW at LaBahn on Nov. 6 of last season. 

Wisconsin Notes

• Wisconsin enters the weekend's action as the fifth-ranked team in the DCU/USCHO.com and the fourth-ranked team USAToday/USAHockeyMagazine national polls.
• The Badgers sport a 7-1-0 overall record and are undefeated in conference play at 4-0-0.
• Wisconsin has won its last seven games after falling to Penn State 4-1 in its season-opening series.
• The Badgers are led this season by Casey O'Brien and Caroline Harvey who have each posted 14 points in eight games. Lacey Eden paces the Badgers with six goals while O'Brien follows with five and Harvey leads the team with 11 assists.
• In net, Jane Gervias leads goaltenders with a 4-0-0 record and has a save percentage of .941 and 0.99 goals against average. She is followed by Cami Kronish with a 3-1-0 record, .933 save percentage and 0.76 goals against average.
• Wisconsin is sixth in the league with a power-play percentage of .152 (5-of-33) and its penalty kill is fourth at .864 (19-of-22).

For more information on the Bemidji State athletic programs, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on Twitter or Instagram (@BSUBeavers), or like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers).
 
Nestled in Northern Minnesota's wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
--bsu--