By Jacob Messing

The top-ranked women from Wisconsin have provided must-watch hockey all season long and with rival No. 7 Minnesota visiting this weekend, that’s not going to change.

The Badgers edged out the Golden Gophers in late October, where they swept them in a pair of one-goal games to raise their record to a perfect 12-0-0 and claim the Battle for the Border. The losses saw the Gophers drop four of their first six homes games.

The rematch, which comes as each team’s final series of the regular season, will be streamed live, right here on FloHockey, this weekend. The action kicks off Friday at 8 PM EST with game two coming at 4 PM, Saturday.

Wisconsin sits at 27-3-2 overall and its 18-2-2 mark in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) has helped them claim the conference for the third straight season. 

For the third-straight year, the #Badgers are @WCHA_WHockey regular-season champs! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/qfthlHYeO5

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) February 10, 2018

Coach Mark Johnson has hailed his young players for their consistency and effort for the conference title, as he has done all season.

“For all of them, whether they’ve played a lot in every game or played a little bit in some games, they all made a contribution and they all need to be complimented,” Johnson said during his weekly presser, Monday.

The Badgers return home for the first time this month, where they hold a 14-0-0 record and will be looking to make it a perfect 16-0-0. As has been the narrative, that will come down to Abby Roque and Presley Norby, a pair of sophomores that lead the Badgers in scoring.

Roque, however, has just one assist in her past five games and will be eager to get the monkey off her back against the Gophers, whom she added two assists against earlier this season.

Minnesota, 20-8-3 overall and 13-6-3 in the WCHA, is chasing second place in the conference behind No. 6 Ohio State, which sits at 13-5-4 in the WCHA.

The Gophers have taken at least a point in each of their past four games and have gone 11-2-1 on the road this season. They’ll be hungry for revenge against the nation’s top team and the chance to overtake the Buckeyes.

The best rivalry in college women's hockey resumes this weekend with a #BorderBattle regular-season finale. #SkiUMah  pic.twitter.com/oeXdBqDC77

— Minnesota W Hockey (@GopherWHockey) February 14, 2018

The Gophers are similarly as young as the Badgers, led by freshman Grace Zumwinkle, whose 32 points in 32 games pace the team. But the next three scorers are all seniors as the youth hasn’t been as consistent or relied upon as the Badgers’.

The Gophers are coming off a bye week, which always provides rest, but can also throw off timing and speed for a young team, especially against one that has been as dominant as the Badgers have this year.

In the Gophers last series, a split with St. Cloud State, coach Brad Frost watched his team collapse in game one, where they allowed two third period goals and eventually lose in a shootout.

In game two, Frost was proud of his team’s fast start, which sparked two first period goals. The Gophers are at their best when they get going early and are 9-1-3 when leading after the first. They’ll need to find that spark early to gain confidence against the Badgers this weekend.

Don’t miss the must-watch series being streamed live, right here on FloHockey, as the two dynamic squads warp up their regular seasons. 

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @JMessing23.