BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Five takeaways from the Wisconsin men's hockey team following its Big Ten Conference series with Michigan:
One: Where does Trent Frederic fit in the discussion of top freshmen to play at UW? The question is becoming more valid after the rookie center produced consecutive two-goal efforts that helped spur 5-2 and 6-4 victories over the Wolverines at the Kohl Center. Frederic, a first-round NHL draft pick of Boston, has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 22 outings this season. That per-game ratio of 1.36 is currently the best for a first-year player at Wisconsin since Dany Heatley averaged 1.47 in 1999-2000. On the all-time list of top-scoring UW freshmen, Frederic sits behind Mark Johnson (1.78 in 1976-77), John Newberry (1.48 in 1980-81), Mike Eaves (1.42 in 1974-75) and Dennis Olmstead (1.38 in 1972-73). Frederic, who missed six games with a hand injury, ranks 12th nationally overall and third among rookies behind Clayton Keller of Boston University (1.46) and Denis Smirnov of Penn State (1.39).
Two: Because you might be wondering, the Badgers (17-10-1 overall) were 2-3-1 without Frederic — including their only shutout loss of the season — while averaging 2.8 goals per outing compared to 4.0 with him. Worth noting, too, is the fact that Frederic has two short-handed goals, the first UW freshman with more than one in a season since Derek Stepan had three in 2008-09, and has three multi-goal performances, which is the most for a Wisconsin rookie since Heatley had five in '99-00.
Three: Frederic is averaging two points a game over his last six (7-5-12) and his right winger, sophomore captain Luke Kunin, has 12 goals over his last 14 outings, but their hot streaks pale in comparison to UW junior center Cameron Hughes. His 12-game point streak (5-11-16) is the longest in a single season for the Badgers since Mark Zengerle had a 20-gamer (9-24-33) in 2011-12. Hughes needs to get to 15 games before he cracks the top 10 in program history. Eaves has the record at 21 (17-31-48) in 1977-78, followed by Zengerle.
Four: UW is now 6-2-1 in games in which it was tied at some point during the third period. That was the case in both decisions over Michigan — it was 2-2 on Friday and 4-4 on Saturday, both with 10 minutes left — and the Badgers found a way to pull away and finish off their fifth weekend sweep of the season. For perspective, they registered two series sweeps combined over the previous two seasons.
Five: Without question, the second-place Badgers (10-4 with 30 points in the Big Ten) have the toughest finishing stretch to the conference regular season. They play at first-place Minnesota (11-3, 33 points) on Friday and Saturday, travel to Penn State (7-6-1, 22 points) on March 3 and 4 and close things out hosting Ohio State (7-6-1, 23 points) on March 10 and 11. Those three opponents rank in the top four nationally in scoring offense (Penn State first, Ohio State third and Minnesota fourth) and in the top 15 in power play efficiency (Ohio State first, Minnesota fourth and Penn State 15th). The Gophers are 9-2-1 at Mariucci Arena, while the Nittany Lions are 13-4-1 at Pegula Ice Arena. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have one of the best road records in the nation at 11-2-3.
