Badgers welcome Alaska Anchorage
December 04, 2008 | Men's Hockey
The Wisconsin men's hockey team (7-7-2, 5-5-2 WCHA) looks to extend its four-game home winning streak when it faces WCHA-opponent Alaska Anchorage (7-5-2, 4-4-2 WCHA) this weekend at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers are coming off a double win last weekend against Michigan State and Michigan at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin topped Michigan State 3-1 last Friday and carried the winning momentum to Saturday night when UW shut out Michigan 3-0 to sweep the College Hockey Showcase. With the wins over UM and MSU, the Badgers reached .500 for the first time this year.
Senior Shane Connelly (Cheltenham, Pa.) posted a 19-save shutout last Saturday against Michigan. He also played in Friday's contest, saving 11 shots for a total of 30 overall last weekend. Connelly also notched one assist against MSU on the first goal of the game, scored by junior Ben Grotting (Birmingham, Ala.). Ironically, the last goalkeeper to record an assist was Brian Elliott on Feb. 9, 2007 against Alaska Anchorage. The Badger defense played a significant role last weekend as well. Three defensemen scored four points over the course of the weekend to aid Wisconsin in its Showcase sweep.
Head coach Mike Eaves created a new line of juniors John Mitchell (Neenah, Wis.) and Grotting and freshman Matt Thurber (Beaver Dam, Wis.) last weekend that was responsible for all three goals and seven points posted against Michigan State on Friday night. The Badger offense looks to continue its success in finding the net for the win this weekend.
The Seawolves enjoyed a break last weekend with a bye. The last time they played was Nov. 21-22 when they split a series against Colorado College in Anchorage. UAA skated to a 4-2 victory over the Tigers on Friday night, but Colorado College claimed the victory on Saturday with a 4-3 edge.
This weekend's games are the first two of four straight games against Wisconsin for the Seawolves. After Saturday, UAA has a month-long break before they resume play on Jan. 9-10 when Wisconsin travels to Anchorage for the teams' second season series. Wisconsin will enjoy a break at the conclusion of this weekend as well. The Badgers will have two weeks off before they resume play on Dec. 27-28 for the Badger Hockey Showdown at the Kohl Center. After playing nine weekends in a row, this will be the first break for UW all season.
The Badgers and the Seawolves have met 60 times before. Currently, UW leads with a 38-13-9 record over UAA. The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 18-19, 2008 in Anchorage. Wisconsin pulled a 2-1 win over the Seawolves on night one, and the teams drew even at 4-4 after playing into overtime on night two.
UW and UAA last met in Madison on Feb. 9-10, 2007. The Badgers swept the Seawolves with a 4-0 shutout on Friday and a 3-1 advantage on Saturday.
Wisconsin and Alaska Anchorage are set to face off at 7 p.m. on both nights. Live coverage includes FSN Wisconsin on Friday night, and WISC-TV, Charter Main Street, and Time Warner Sports on Saturday. The games will also be on tape-delay on Wisconsin Public Television at 10:30 p.m. on Friday and 11 p.m. on Saturday.
Live postgame video streaming of the UW's news conferences will be available at UWBadgers.com .
Live stats on UWBadgers.com will also be available both nights. Check the sportid=119"> --> UWBadgers.com Game Day page for links.
