The No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers (6-3, 1-1 B1G) play host to No. 4 University of North Dakota (5-2-1, 1-1 NCHC) this weekend in what should be an exciting series.

The Badgers are coming off of an emotional home series split with St. Lawrence, which saw UW transfer goalie, Kyle Hayton, allow only two goals and take a game from his former team in a 4-2 victory on Friday night. The Badgers dropped the second game of the back-to-back, but look to bounce back this weekend and protect home ice, where they currently sit at 3-2-0 on the season.

The key for the Badgers this weekend will be a strong start to the game, and strong defense early on. The Badgers have only allowed two goals in the first period twice through their first nine games, and are 0-2-0 in those games. Good starts have been paramount to success for the Badgers early on this season.

Senior Ryan Wagner scored three goals last weekend against St. Lawrence, tying him for the team lead with five goals on the season. Also hot coming into this series is Will Johnson, who has tallied at least a point in each of his last seven games. Trent Frederic and Seamus Malone also carry six-game point streaks into this weekend.

UND is 5-2-1 this year, led by Grant Mismash and Christian Wolanin, who each average a point per game. The Fighting Hawks will be the toughest matchup for the Badgers so far, but this weekend will serve as a great measuring stick to see where this young Wisconsin team is 10 games into the season.

Game 1: Friday @ 7 PM

Game 2: Saturday @ 7PM

Both games will be played at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

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