The Wisconsin State Journal is reporting�that Wisconsin junior defenseman Jamie McBain has decided to leave school a year early and go pro.

McBain, a second-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, led the Badger men's hockey team in scoring this season with 37 points. One of UW's assistant captains, he was also named the WCHA's Player of the Year and is a Top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

A year ago, McBain made a somewhat surprising decision�to return for his junior season. At that time, I asked McBain if he expected to be in Madison for four seasons, to which he said, "I haven't looked that far into it. I love it here. I love college, but we'll see how next year goes."

Judging by his performance as a junior, McBain's decision to go pro shouldn't surprise anyone.

UPDATE: According to the Hurricanes' team site, McBain has signed a three-year contract that will pay him $600,000 a season at the NHL level and $62,500 at the minor-league level. He will also receive a $255,000 signing bonus. He is scheduled to join the team for the 2009-10 season.

Check Friday's Badger Herald for more, where we will hopefully hear from McBain about his decision.

Join the Badger Herald's Tyler Mason as he blogs live from Wisconsin's final game of the season. The Badgers take on the North Dakota Fighting Sioux at 2 p.m. today at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul in the WCHA Final Five's third-place game.�

Wisconsin fell 3-0 yesterday afternoon to Denver, while the Sioux lost by the same score to Minnesota Duluth last night.�

UW's chances of making the NCAA tournament were dashed with the loss to the Pioneers, so there's not a ton to play for today. But it will be the final games for seniors Tom Gorowsky and Shane Connelly, who will don the cardinal and white for the last time.�

The Badgers are also trying to finish the season with 20 wins for the 32nd time in school�history.�

Wisconsin senior goaltender Jessie Vetter has won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the nation's top women's Division I hockey player.

The announcement was made today in Boston at a reception. Vetter was one of three finalists, along with Meghan Agosta of Mercyhurst and Sarah Vaillancourt of Harvard.

Vetter becomes just the second Badger to win the award, joining forward Sara Bauer, who won it in 2006. On the season, she boasted a 1.29 goals against average and a .940 save percentage while collecting a record 13 shutouts.

Vetter and Wisconsin will take part in their fourth straight national championship game Sunday, when they take on Agosta and Mercyhurst. That game starts at 2 p.m. CT in Boston.

Join Tyler Mason live from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul as the Wisconsin men's hockey team takes on Denver at 2 p.m. CT in the WCHA Final Five.

The Badgers (19-15-4, 14-11-3 WCHA) enter the Final Five essentially needing to win the tournament in order to secure a berth in the NCAA playoffs. Denver (22-10-5, 16-8-4 WCHA), on the other hand, is a lock for the NCAA tourney but can improve their seeding win a win or two this weekend.

The winner of this afternoon's game will advance to the finals, which will take place tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

ST. PAUL -- At the WCHA award banquet at this weekend's Final Five tournament, UW defenseman Jamie McBain was named the WCHA Player of the Year.�

McBain, a junior from Faribault, Minn., leads Wisconsin in scoring, with seven goals and 29 assists on the season. He also led all WCHA blueliners in scoring on the season.�

While McBain's numbers on the year have certainly been impressive, he admitted the award caught him a bit off-guard.�

"No one is more surprised than me, I'll tell you that," McBain said after the banquet. "You look around the league at all the great players, the one that came to my mind is (Minnesota forward) Ryan Stoa for the year he had, especially coming back off that injury. I was surprised, but obviously it's a huge honor."�

That wasn't the only honor McBain received Thursday night. The Top Ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award were announced, and McBain's named was on the list. He was the only representative from the WCHA to be nominated as a finalist.�

"Again, I was surprised," he said. "I had a little skid there and kind of didn't get any points so I thought I might be out of it. It's a huge honor just knowing that people are appreciative of my game."�

With Wisconsin's Final Five game against Denver looming large--the two face off tomorrow afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center at 2 p.m. CT--McBain doesn't have much time to worry about the individual awards.�

"I'm going to, as much as I can, just focus on the games," McBain said.

The UW Athletic Department announced Friday that both the Wisconsin men's and women's hockey teams will play an outdoor game at Camp Randall Stadium on Feb. 6, 2010.�

The women's team will host the Bemidji State Beavers, while the men's squad will host the Michigan Wolverines. The women's game will be played before the men's. Start times for the games have not yet been released. Ticket prices have been listed at $25, while students can purchase tickets for $10.

The Camp Randall Hockey Classic will mark the second time in four years that the Badger men will play an outdoor game in the state of Wisconsin. The Badgers and Ohio State Buckeyes faced off in the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic on Feb. 11, 2006, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.�

"We've already experienced one outdoor game and it was an even that is hard to describe," UW men's hockey coach Mike Eaves said in a statement.�

"It's very exciting to be playing at the stadium, especially for women's hockey," Badger women's head coach Mark Johnson said. "We try to give student-athletes the chance to experience something different and this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."�

The rink will be set up in the center of the field, with the ends of the rink stretching to about the 17-yard lines.�

Read Monday's Badger Herald for full coverage of Friday's press conference, with reaction from UW men's players Blake Geoffrion and Ben Street, along with Eaves and Associate Athletic Director Sean Frazier.