'SUPER' SERIES NEXT AGAINST OHIO STATE
Wisconsin (11-8-1, 4-2-0-0 Big Ten) can move into a tie for first place in the Big Ten standings this week when it takes on No. 8 Ohio State (12-4-6, 3-2-1-1 Big Ten) on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio at 6 p.m. CT, and Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York as part of "Super Saturday."

On "Super Saturday," the Badgers skate at 6 p.m. CT, after the Wisconsin men's basketball team takes on Rutgers at 11 a.m. CT.

Thursday's game can be seen online at BTN Plus, while Saturday's game airs on BTN.

Wisconsin enters the week after posting a home split against Minnesota, while Ohio State won and tied at No. 1 Penn State.

SERIES NOTES
Although the teams have met just 24 times, the Badgers and Buckeyes have played 14 times since the 2013-14 season.

Wisconsin has a 4-6-3 record over that time frame.

The Badgers are 0-3-3 in the last six meetings between the schools, with the last victory coming on Feb. 14, 2015, a 3-2 win in Columbus. 

UW and OSU have met twice in post-season play, with Wisconsin winning both games. The Badgers won 1-0 in overtime in the opening round of the 2004 NCAA tournament.

Wisconsin then defeated the Buckeyes in the inaugural Big Ten tournament finals in 2014, winning 5-4 in overtime.

The two teams have played six neutral site games, with Wisconsin owning a 5-1-0 record, including a 4-2 Badgers triumph at Lambeau Field in 2006. 

WISCONSIN-OHIO STATE CONNECTIONS
UW forward Seamus Malone and OSU defensemen Wyatt Ege and Sasha Larocque played together on the Dubuque Fight Saints in the USHL during the 2014-15 season. Malone also played with goalie Christian Frey from 2012-14.  

Wisconsin defenseman Jake Linhart played with Ohio State forward Nick Schilkey on the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL during the 2013-14 season. Linhart also played on the Gamblers with Matthew Weis from 2012-14.

UW sophomores Will Johnson and Jarod Zirbel played with Ohio State forwards Miguel Fidler and Freddy Gerard on the Madison Capitols in the USHL during the 2014-15 season.

Badgers' defenseman Cullen Hurley and Buckeyes' defenseman Janik Moser played on the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL during the 2013-14 season. Hurley also played with Mason Jobst from 2012-14. 

Wisconsin defenseman Jake Bunz played with OSU's Brendon Kearney on the Chicago Steel in the USHL during the 2013-14 season. Wisconsin freshman Max Zimmer joined the pair for eight games during the 2014-15 campaign.  

Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik was the captain for the Badgers 1990 NCAA championship team and skated from 1986 through 1990 for the Badgers.

Rohlik served as an assistant coach under Mark Osiecki when Osiecki served as Ohio State head coach from 2010 to 2013. The two were teammates on the 1990 NCAA
championship team.

OSU associate head coach Mark Strobel played for Wisconsin from 1991 to 1995, captaining the team as a senior.

UW associate head coach Don Granato played two seasons for the ECHL's Columbus Chill (1991–93), and spent two seasons as head coach of the Chill from 1997 through 1999.

LAST MEETINGS
Ohio State 6, Wisconsin 5
Feb. 27, 2016

The line of Luke Kunin, Cameron Hughes and Grant Besse combined for three goals, five assists and eight points, but the Badgers dropped a 6-5 contest at Ohio State.

Wisconsin led 3-1 after the first period, but allowed three goals in the second and two in the third to fall. 

Defenseman Jake Linhart and forward Will Johnson also scored goals for UW in the game.

Matt Jurusik stopped 32 shots in the loss.

Wisconsin 4, Ohio State 4 
(UW 1-0 in shootout)
Feb. 26, 2016

After going down 1-0 and 2-1, the Badgers struck three consecutive times, with goals by Seamus Malone, Matt Ustaski and Matthew Freytag to grab a 4-2 lead.

However after drawing within one, Ohio State's Nick Schilkey scored with an extra attacker and the teams finished in a 4-4 overtime tie. 

Matthew Freytag scored the lone goal in a six-round shootout to get the Badgers an extra point in the Big Ten standings.

Matt Jurusik made 25 saves and stopped all six shootout attempts for the Badgers in goal. 

BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSIN BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 11-8-1 (1st Year)
Overall: 11-8-1 (1st Year)

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
Head Coach: Steve Rohlik
Record at OSU: 46-51-12 (3rd Year)
Overall: 46-51-12 (3rd Year)

KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
Wisconsin owns victories over three league leaders this season with wins over Big Ten-leader Minnesota, Hockey East-leader Boston College and ECAC co-leader St. Lawrence.

Junior defenseman Tim Davison's goal last Saturday against Minnesota marked his first of the season and his first since Dec. 5, 2015, a span of 40 games. Davison, two off the team lead with 12 assists this season, now boasts eight career goals. Davison scored five times last season.

In addition to Davison, senior defenseman Corbin McGuire scored his first goal in a while, tallying Saturday's game-winning goal, which marked his first goal in 13 games dating back to Oct. 29 at Clarkson. 

Sophomore forward Luke Kunin scored and goal and two assists last weekend to extend his scoring streak to his last six games played. Kunin boasts seven goals and 10 points during the streak. His 14 goals this season rank fourth in the Big Ten, while his five goals in league play shares second in the Big Ten with OSU forward Mason Jobst and Penn State's Andrew Sturtz. Kunin's 1.00 goals-per-game mark ranks second on its own.  

The Badgers have scored 73 goals in 20 games for a 3.65 goals-per-game average. That ranks sixth in the country. The last time UW averaged more goals per game for a season was in 2009–10 when the team scored 3.98 goals per contest. Ohio State ranks second at 4.23 goals per game.

The Badgers have fired off at least 30 shots in each of their last 16 contests and in 18 of 20 games this season. The Badgers' average of 35.80 shots per game ranks second in the country behind Penn State (48.24). UW's 9.50 shot differential also ranks second behind PSU (23.57).

Wisconsin drew 14,868 fans to its game last Saturday at the Kohl Center, marking its largest crowd in nearly three seasons. It was the largest crowd since UW saw 15,359 people sell out the Kohl Center for a 2-0 victory over Michigan State on Feb. 22, 2014.  

Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato began his NHL career playing at the site of Saturday's game, Madison Square Garden. As an NHL rookie, Granato played with the New York Rangers during the 1988–89 season, scoring a team rookie-record 36 goals, which still stands. He finished his rookie season with 63 points in 78 games. Then after playing 37 games and tallying seven goals and 21 points his second season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings along with Tomas Sandstrom for Bernie Nicholls.

UW associate head coach Mark Osiecki also skated at Madison Square Garden. He played games there while with the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators.
  
MINNESOTA REVIEW
Wisconsin split at home last weekend against Minnesota, falling 4-3 in overtime last Friday, before skating to a 5-3 victory on Saturday.

In the Friday game, UW was outshot 18-6 in the first frame and outscored 2-0 in the period, but had the game tied late in the second period, before Minnesota retook the lead with 39 seconds left in the frame. Trent Frederic tied the game again at 9:21 of the third period, but Justin Kloos won it 1:43 into overtime for Minnesota.
Sophomore Luke Kunin scored his team-leading 14th goal in the game, while Matt Ustaski scored his second goal in as many games, and of the season, in the contest.

Freshman goaltender made 36 stops in the game.

UW was outshot for just the third time in a game this season, 40-32.

Both teams went 0-for-4 on the power play.

On Saturday, UW got the lead first in an eventual 5-3 win. The Badgers took the lead on a Will Johnson goal at 12:38 of the first period, but allowed a pair of goals before the end of the frame to trail 2-1 after one.

Three consecutive goals in the second period, then a fourth-straight tally early in the third helped the Badgers pull away in the victory.
Cameron Hughes, Tim Davison and Corbin McGuire (power play) scored the second period goals. Trent Frederic scored for the second consecutive game to make it a 5-2 lead for UW. 

Minnesota scored a last-minute power-play goal to make it interesting, but that was as close as it got.

The Badgers outshot the Gophers, 37-35, and saw sophomore goaltender Matt Jurusik make 32 saves in the win.

UW went 2-for-6 on the power play and killed six of seven Minnesota chances.

BALANCE
Seven different Badgers accounted for the team's eight goals last weekend, with only freshman Trent Frederic scoring twice.

Fifteen different Badgers recorded at least one point last weekend.

Both Badger goaltenders made over 30 stops, with Berry making 36 saves on Friday and Jurusik making 32 saves on Saturday.

SCORING IN BUNCHES
Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in conference games with a scoring average of 4.33 goals per game. 

Overall, the Badgers are fourth in the league at 3.65 goals per game, but that also ranks sixth nationally as four of the top schools in the country in offense are from the Big Ten.
1. Penn State - 4.43
2. Ohio State - 4.23
5. Minnesota - 3.77
6. Wisconsin - 3.65 

Wisconsin defense ranks second in Big Ten play, allowing 2.83 goals-against per game.

Ohio State ranks second in the country in scoring margin, outscoring its opponents by 1.45 goals per game on average.

RIGHT SAID FRED
Freshman forward Trent Frederic has points in four consecutive contests and five of his last six since returning from an injury that forced him to miss six games. He has points in 10 of his 14 games played this season.

Frederic is tied for the Big Ten freshman scoring lead with seven points in six games played (3 goals, 4 assists). His 1.17 points-per-game mark in Big Ten games ranks second among rookies, trailing only Ohio State's Tanner Laczynski, who has averaged two points per game, but has played in just two league games so far.

Frederic recorded goals in both games last weekend, tallying his fifth power-play goal. The power-play goal ties him with sophomore forward Luke Kunin for the team lead.

The Badgers are 9-5-0 with Frederic in the lineup and 2-3-1 without him.

Chosen 29th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2016 NHL Draft, Frederic has five goals and 12 points in just 10 games this season, making him one of three Badgers averaging a point per game.

The Badgers average 4.0 goals per game with Frederic in the lineup (56 goals in 14 games), and 2.83 goals per game without him (17 goals in six games).
Frederic shares the team lead with two game-winning markers and five power-play tallies. He is also one of two Badgers with a  short-handed score.

He has five multi-point games in his first 14 career contests.

JOHNSON CONTROLS
Sophomore Will Johnson, who scored goals in the first two games of the season, but then went on an eight-game point drought, now has points in seven of his last 10 games. 

Johnson has five goals and nine points in the last 10 games, which has him tied for third on the team with seven goals on the season. 

Johnson had his second multi-point game of the season last Saturday, scoring the game's first goal and adding a primary assist. He led the Badgers with six shots in the game.  

Johnson posted his first career two-goal game on Dec. 9 at Michigan.

He has seven goals and 11 points in 20 games this year, both of which surpass his freshmen year totals accumulated in 34 games.

CAPTAIN KUNIN
Sophomore captain Luke Kunin grabbed a share of the team lead last weekend after posting a goal and two assists against Minnesota. Kunin, the team leader with 14 goals, now shares the team lead with 22 points.

Kunin also shares the team lead with five power-play goals and two game-winning goals. 

In Big Ten play, Kunin paces the Badgers with five goals and eight points in five games played.

Kunin boasts seven goals and 10 points during his current six-game point-scoring streak. 

Kunin is averaging 0.62 goals per game for his career with 33 goals in 53 games played, which is tied with North Dakota sophomore Brock Boeser for the highest goals-per-game mark in the country for skaters in at least their sophomore seasons. Only BU frosh Clayton Keller (0.67 in 15 GP) and DU frosh Henrik Borgstrom (0.65 in 20 GP) have better averages.

Luke Kunin ended the 2015–16 season with points in a career-best seven straight games, tallying six goals and nine points during the streak. He had points in the first two games of this season with a goal and an assist, before going pointless against BC. That gave Kunin a nine-game point streak dating back to last year. He had seven goals and 11 points in that stretch.  

Luke Kunin finished the 2015–16 season as the Badgers leading goal scorer with 19 goals, the first UW rookie since Dany Heatley scored 28 goals in 1999–2000 to lead the Badgers in goals. The 19 goals are also the most for a UW freshman since Heatley's 28. 

Kunin's 32 points made him the first UW rookie to reach 30 points since Nic Kerdiles tallied 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games during the 2012–13 season. The 32 points were good for second among Big Ten freshmen, while his 0.94 points per game ranked seventh nationally among freshmen.

He scored four goals in the last minute of a period last season to rank second in the country, while his seven points in the last minute were also second. He had nine goals and 14 points in the first and last minute of periods, which both led the country.

Kunin finished conference play as UW's leader with 13 goals and 21 points in Big Ten play. His 13 goals ranked fourth among all Big Ten skaters, while his 21 points shared eighth. Both ranked second among Big Ten freshmen.

NON-CONFERENCE
The Badgers finished non-conference play 7-6-1 against non-conference foes. The seven non-conference victories matched the program's combined non-conference win total for the last two seasons. The Badgers were 7-13-6 in non-conference play over the last two seasons.

The Big Ten boasts the nation's second-best non-conference record at 45-27-11 (.608 win percentage). The NCHC leads with a 45-21-13 mark (.652). Three non-conference games remain for Big Ten teams.

TOP 12 SPECIAL TEAMS
UW ranks eighth in the country with the man advantage at 22.5 percent (27-for-120).

The Badgers have scored 27 of their 73 goals while on the power play.

Wisconsin's penalty kill ranks eighth in the nation at 86.9 percent (86-for-99).

UW is one of just two schools to boast top-eight programs in both power play and penalty Kill (Northeastern - 5th PP; 7th PK). 

Wisconsin is the third least penalized team in the Big Ten with an average of 11.9 penalty minutes per game.

This week's opponent, Ohio State, ranks second in the country on the power play at 26.1 percent (24-for-92), but 52nd out of 60 schools on the penalty kill at 77.3 percent (75-for-97). 

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK
Freshman goaltender Jack Berry started his Badger career with 144 minutes, 17 seconds of shutout hockey before finally allowing a goal to Merrimack last Friday. That marks the longest shutout streak to start a UW career, more than double Bernd Brückler's 67:59 of shutout hockey to start his career in 2001–02, which is the second longest streak in school history.

Berry's 22-save shutout in UW's game on Nov. 5 against Northern Michigan marked the fourth time a Badger goalie accomplished the feat in his first collegiate start. In addition to Bernd Brückler's 25-save shutout on Oct. 20, 2001 in a 5-0 win over Wayne State in his first start, Jim Carey posted a 22-save shutout on Nov. 1, 1992 in an 11-0 win over Northern Michigan. Wayne Thomas also began his career with a 22-save shutout on Nov. 16, 1968 in an 11-0 win over Pennsylvania.

CAPTAINS
Sophomore forward Luke Kunin was named team captain, the second sophomore captain in school history. Mike Eaves was a sophomore captain for the 1975–76 season. 

Joining sophomore forward Luke Kunin as alternate captains are senior forward Grant Besse and junior forward Cameron Hughes. Besse served as alternate captain last season, while Hughes filled in at that capacity for a handful of games last year.

BESSE TO 100
Senior forward Grant Besse needs nine more points to become the 74th skater in UW history to reach 100 career points, and would become the first since Tyler Barnes (2010–14) reached the mark with 101 points for his career. He began the season needing 31 to reach 100.

With 22 points through 19 games played, Besse currently boasts 38 goals, 53 assists and 91 points in 122 games played.

Besse's 122 games played makes him one of just two Badgers who have played 100 career college games, joining fellow senior forward Jedd Soleway, who has played 107 games.

LINHART AND SOUL
Junior defenseman Jake Linhart's eight goals last year ranked fourth among Badgers and only trailed tied Michigan's early-departure Zach Werenski among Big Ten defensemen, who finished with 11. That means Linhart shares the title the "Big Ten's top goal-scoring defenseman returning." 

Linhart also led UW defensemen with 18 points, which was tied for ninth among Big Ten blue liners.

NEW COACHING STAFF
Tony Granato returns to Wisconsin after 13 years as a head and assistant coach in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. That followed a 13-year NHL playing career that included stops with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. 

Don Granato arrives in Madison after nearly five seasons as head coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP) helping develop the nation's best young hockey players. He also spent one season as an assistant coach with the NHL's St. Louis Blues, in addition to over 10 years as a head coach in junior and minor-league hockey. 

Osiecki returns to Madison, where he previously spent six seasons (2004–10) as an assistant coach. While at UW, he helped the Badgers win the 2006 NCAA Championship, as well as a runner-up spot in the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four. Since his time at UW, Osiecki spent time as the head coach at Ohio State, as well as an assistant coach with the AHL's Rockford Ice Hogs, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. 

All three coaches went to school and played hockey for Wisconsin.

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
There have been 12 Badgers who have skated for the New York Rangers all time, including current Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh and alternate captain Derek Stepan. Other who have played for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden include Mike Richter, Brian Mullen, Tony Granato, Bruce Driver, Patrick Flatley, Mike Blaisdell, Dean Talafous, Barry Richter, Wayne Thomas and Terry Kleisinger.

FEELING A DRAFT
Wisconsin begins the season with eight NHL draft picks on its roster, including two first-round picks in Luke Kunin and Trent Frederic, third-round pick JD Greenway, fourth-round pick Max Zimmer, fifth-round selection Grant Besse, sixth-round choice Cameron Hughes and seventh-round picks Jedd Soleway and Matt Ustaski. 

UW's top four picks were all chosen in the 2016 draft.  

This year marks the first time since the 2010–11 season that UW boasts a first-round draft pick on its roster (Jake Gardiner), and the first team since the 2009–10 squad to boast more than one first-round pick (Gardiner, Ryan McDonagh, Brendan Smith).

Forwards Kunin and Frederic give UW its first first-round draft picks at the forward position since Kyle Turris played for UW during the 2007–08 season.

Kunin and Frederic give Wisconsin two first-round draft picks on the same team at forward for the first time in school history. 

CURRENT UW DRAFT PICKS    

NHL DEBUT
Former Wisconsin forward Joseph LaBate (2011–15) became the 16th Badger this season and the 81st all-time to play in the NHL when he made his debut on Nov. 23 at Arizona.

GETTING YOUNGER
While Wisconsin boasted one of the youngest rosters in the country last season with regards to age, they get even younger this year. The team average 20 years, 10 months at the start of October last season. This year, the team averages 20 years, 5 months.

UP NEXT
After the two-game series with Ohio State, the Badgers will hit the road again on Feb. 3-4 and head to East Lansing, Mich. to take on Michigan State. The two teams already played a series at the Kohl Center during the first weekend of January, with Wisconsin sweeping the Spartans, winning both games by a count of 5-1. Both Friday and Saturday's tilts will begin at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on FS Wisconsin Plus, BTN2Go and available on the radio on WIBA-AM 1310 and the Badger Sports Network.