Baggot: Five takeaways from series vs. MSU
January 08, 2017 | Men's Hockey, Andy Baggot
Wisconsin’s improved play earns sweep of Spartans to lead in Big Ten
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Five takeaways on the Wisconsin men's hockey team following its Big Ten Conference series with Michigan State:
One: UW (10-7-1 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten) wanted to open the second half of the season with a statement and it did so by virtue of 5-1 victories over the Spartans on Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center. It was the fewest goals allowed in a series by the Badgers this season and equaled their best showing over the previous 44 regular-season weekends going back to 2013-14. The only other time during that stretch where Wisconsin allowed two goals or less on a given two-game weekend was Oct. 30 and 31, 2015 when it outscored Arizona State, in its first year as a Division I independent, 7-2.
Two: The Badgers still rank 44th out of 60 Division I teams in goals against average (3.28) following the sweep, but a closer look shows they now have held opponents to two goals or less in eight games and are 7-1 in those instances. For perspective, Wisconsin limited opponents to two goals or fewer nine times all last season (5-4) and 10 times in 2014-15 (3-4-3).
Three: UW associate head coach Mark Osiecki said Sunday that he expects freshman defenseman JD Greenway to be available Jan. 20 and 21 when the Badgers return to action by hosting Minnesota. Greenway suffered an upper-body injury during the second period Friday vs. the Spartans and didn't play Saturday.
Four: The absence of Greenway, coupled with the second-period ejection Saturday of veteran defenseman Tim Davison, allowed Osiecki an opportunity to measure the growth of the blue-line corps while rotating five players. "I thought the guys on Friday were a little bit anxious, a little bit amped up for the most part," he said, alluding to the rust from a 26-day holiday break. "That being said, they played well, especially when JD went out. All five stepped up and played well." As far as the series finale, Osiecki said the unit — sophomore Patrick Sexton replaced Greenway — was "quiet" and that's a good thing. Osiecki said that as the game went on the defensemen got better and better. "They just kept it simple, doing things quick and hard and didn't try to force things," he said.
Five: The Badgers have outshot opponents by 10 or more in a game on 12 occasions this season — including the last six — and rank second nationally in shot margin each game at plus-11. This might be the most dramatic illustration of the new offensive philosophy employed by first-year coach Tony Granato and his staff. Over the previous three seasons, Wisconsin had but 11 games where it had a double-digit shot advantage over its opponent.
