LOTS ON THE LINE AT MINNESOTA
No. 19 Wisconsin (17-10-1, 10-4-0-0 Big Ten) visits No. 4 Minnesota (20-8-2, 11-3-0-0 Big Ten) for the lone series in the nation pitting the first and second-place teams from a conference against each other. The Friday-Saturday series takes place at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis at 7 p.m.

Wisconsin enters the weekend after posting a home sweep over Michigan, winning 5-2 last Friday and 6-4 last Saturday at the Kohl Center. Minnesota traveled to No. 8/9 Penn State with a 6-3 victory last Friday and a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday. 

The Badgers split with Minnesota on Jan. 20-21 at the Kohl Center, dropping a 4-3 overtime game on Friday, and winning a 5-3 contest on Saturday. 

Both Wisconsin and Minnesota sport 6-2-0 records since their last meetings. 

SERIES NOTES
The teams meet for the 283rd and 284th times, the most for the Badgers in school history.

Wisconsin and Minnesota's records differ slightly in the all-time record of the series.

UW is 2-4-1 in the last eight meetings in the series. 

UW junior forward Matt Ustaski's best career game point-wise came against Minnesota when he scored a goal and two assists on Jan. 30, 2005 in a 7-5 Wisconsin loss. 
Senior forward Grant Besse boasts nine goals and 12 points in his last 11 games against Minnesota.

In addition to Besse and Ustaski, UW sophomore Luke Kunin and junior Tim Davison are the only other current Badgers with multi-point game against Minnesota.

Coming into the weekend, Minnesota and Wisconsin sit 1-2 in the Big Ten standings. There have been six instances all-time in which the two teams have finished in the top-two spots in the final standings.

Those years are 1980-81, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1991-92, 2005-06 and 2013-14. Minnesota took the top spot in all of the years except 1989-90.

WISCONSIN-MINNESOTA CONNECTIONS
Five Badgers hail from the state of Minnesota, including senior forward Grant Besse (Plymouth), junior defenseman Cullen Hurley (Eagan), sophomore forward Matthew Freytag (Wayzata), sophomore forward Dan Labosky (Edina) and freshman forward Max Zimmer (Medina).

UW associate head coach Mark Osiecki grew up in Burnsville, Minnesota, and won a state hockey title with Burnsville High School.

UW associate head coach Don Granato, though he grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois, skated on the same team as Osiecki at Burnsville High School.

Minnesota boasts one Wisconsin native, sophomore forward Tommy Novak (River Falls). 

UW junior forward Ryan Wagner played on the US NTDP with Minnesota defensemen Jack Glover and Ryan Collins.

UW junior forward Jason Ford and sophomore forward Seamus Malone skated with Minnesota Mike Szmatula for the Dubuque Fighting Saints during the 2012–13 campaign.

UW junior defenseman Jake Linhart played with Minnesota  sophomore forward Brent Gates with the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers in 2013–14.

UW sophomore defenseman Patrick Sexton skated on the same Penticton Vees team during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons with Minnesota sophomore forward Jack Ramsey.

Wisconsin junior defenseman Cullen Hurley and Minnesota sophomore goaltender Eric Schierhorn were teammates with the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks.

LAST MEETINGS
Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 3
January 20, 2017

Despite coming back from two separate deficits, Wisconsin fell to Minnesota 4-3 in overtime at the Kohl Center. 

Minnesota put the Badgers in a first-period hole after scoring two goals in the opening frame. Leon Bristedt scored four and a half minutes into the period and Mike Szmatula doubled Minnesota's lead halfway through the first. 

The Badgers fought back in the second period beginning with Luke Kunin's 14th goal of the season just 53 seconds in. Wisconsin knotted the game at 2-2 after Matt Ustaski netted his second goal of the season with under three minutes to go in the middle period.

The game stayed tied at 2-2 for just 2:19 as Minnesota regained the lead on a goal from Tyler Sheehy late in the second period. The goal gave the Gophers a 3-2 lead heading into the final period of play.

In the third period, the Cardinal and White continued their offensive pressure from the previous period and their pressure was rewarded with Trent Frederic's sixth goal of the season.

Minnesota ended the game 1:43 into overtime on a Justin Kloos goal, finishing the game off with a score of 4-3. 

Jack Berry made 36 saves on the evening.

Wisconsin 5, Minnesota 3
January 21, 2017

Five different players scored for the Badgers as they defeated Minnesota by a score of 5-3 at the Kohl Center. The two-goal victory snapped the Gophers' seven-game winning streak.  

Will Johnson opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the year, 12:38 into the first period when he skated around the Minnesota defense and slipped it past goaltender Eric Schierhorn.

Minnesota would fight back with two goals of their own late in the opening frame as Ryan Norman scored with under four minutes to go. Mike Szmatula put the Gophers up 2-1 just 1:31 later to put the Badgers in a deficit heading into the first intermission.

UW found the equalizer halfway through the second period as Cameron Hughes stuffed in the puck on a wrap-around to knot the game at 2-2.

Tim Davison was the next goal scorer, potting his first goal of the season to give Wisconsin a 3-2 lead. It was the junior's first goal in 40 games, last scoring on Dec. 5, 2015 against Michigan.

The Cardinal and White headed into the third period with a two-goal cushion thanks to Corbin McGuire's power-play goal with 4:01 to go in the second.

Wisconsin came out in the third period just as they had finished the second period, scoring a power-play goal just 57 seconds into the final stanza.

Matt Jurusik stopped 32 shots in the victory.

BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSIN BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 17-10-1 (1st Year)
Overall: 17-10-1 (1st Year)

MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Head Coach: Red Berenson
Record at UM: 415-219-68 (.640) (17 Seasons)
Overall: 694-374-97 (.637) (29 Seasons)

KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
The Badgers are guaranteed at top-four finish in the Big Ten standings as they head to Minnesota for a chance to gain first place. The Badgers were picked to finish fifth in the preseason Big Ten poll by the coaches.

The Badgers hold a seven-point advantage over third-place Ohio State and will be in at least second place following the coming weekend.

Wisconsin sits 7-2-0 on the road this season.

This weekend begins the final six games of the regular season, all against teams currently ranked.

Sophomore forward Luke Kunin is one goal shy of becoming the first Badger to score 20 goals in a season since Michael Mersch tallied 22 times during the 2013–14 season. 

Senior forward Grant Besse, who hails from Plymouth, Minnesota, has nine goals, 12 points and 44 shots in his last 11 games against Minnesota. That includes two games this season at the Kohl Center in which he failed to record a point.

Sophomore forward Jarod Zirbel scored his first goal of the season last Friday in UW's 5-2 win over Michigan. Zirbel's second goal of his career

NUMBERS TO KNOW
5- Freshman forward Trent Frederic shares the national lead with five short-handed points, boasting two goals and three assists with the Badgers shorthanded.

8- Freshman forward Trent Frederic's goal eight seconds into last Saturday's games against Michigan set the school record for fastest goal to start a game, beating Ryan Wagner, Gary Winchester and Steve Reinprecht by one second.

5- Senior Aidan Cavallini has five goals in his last last 13 games after not scoring a goal in the first 64 career games of his career. That includes a two-goal game in his last outing. His five goals tie him for third on the Badgers in Big Ten action.  

TOP-NINE SPECIAL TEAMS
Wisconsin's 32 power-play goals through 28 games is already the most for the Badgers in a season since the team scored 33 during the 2011–12 campaign in 37 games. 

UW ranks ninth in the country with the man advantage at 21.6 percent (32-for-148).

Wisconsin's penalty kill ranks fifth in the nation at 87.0 percent (107-for-123).

The Badgers have faced four of the top-10 power plays in the country this season in a total of nine games, including two against the nation's top power play, Ohio State.

This week's opponent, Minnesota, owns the nation's fourth-ranked power play at 26.9 percent.

The Badgers have allowed no more than one power-play goal in a game in each of the last 13 tilts, going perfect in seven of those contests, including four of the last six.

The Badgers have allowed more than one power-play goal in a game just three times through the first 28 games this season. They have had 15 perfect nights on the penalty kill. 

UW is the only school in the country to boasts top-nine programs in both power play and penalty Kill. Northeastern is the only other school boasting both a top-15 power play and penalty kill.

The Wolverines penalty kill ranks at No. 26 at 83.6 percent (102-for-122).

LINHART AND SOUL
Junior defenseman Jake Linhart has points in seven of his last eight games and has scored three goals and four assists during that span.

Linhart has quietly accumulated 19 points in 28 games to grab the team lead among defenseman in scoring. Linhart's 19 points, on five goals and 14 assists, are fifth among Big Ten rearguards in scoring. His 10 points in Big Ten action has him third in the Big Ten among defenseman in league games.

GOALIE ROTATION
Since the start of 2017, UW has gone with a goalie rotation with frosh Jack Berry playing series openers, and sophomore Matt Jurusik playing on Saturdays.

Jurusik is 5-1-0 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in his six appearances in 2017. That included a four-game winning streak.

Berry is 4-2-0 with a 2.66 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in the new year.  

Berry leads all goalies in Big Ten play with a 2.76 goals-against average, while Jurusik is third with 2.97 goals-against average. 

TISCHKE A WINNER
Sophomore defenseman Peter Tischke tallied his first career game-winning goal last Saturday, scoring a goal at 11:03 of the third period to break a 4-4 tie with Michigan. 

His third goal of the season and of his career helped Tischke to his first career multi-point game and three-point weekend.

Tischke was joined by Aidan Cavallini to give UW two players who produced their first career two-point games last Saturday.

ABOUT FIRST PLACE
Wisconsin sits in second place in the Big Ten, three points behind league-leading Minnesota. UW spent two weeks tied with Minnesota in first place, before dropping behind the Feb. 10-11 weekend after losses to Penn State. 

Before this season, the last time UW was in first place in conference standings was Oct. 28, 2011, when it was part of a seven-way tie for first place in the WCHA.

The Badgers had a 2-2-0 league mark and four points in four games played.

The last time Wisconsin began the month of February in first place was during the 2005–06 season, when the Badgers began the month in a three-way tie for first in the WCHA with Denver and Minnesota. UW went up two points in the standings after a split at Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 3-4, 2006, but fell out of first for good the next weekend when it played non-conference action.
  
MICHIGAN REVIEW
The Badgers posted their fourth Big Ten sweep of the season with 5-2 and 6-4 victories over Michigan.

UW opened the scoring both nights on tallies by freshman forward Trent Frederic.

Friday, UW never trailed, leading 1-0 and 2-1, before Frederic scored the winner to break a 2-2 tie at 10:23 of the third period.

Sophomore forward Jardo Zirbel scored his first goal of the season to add insurance, and sophomore forward Seamus Malone capped the scoring with his ninth of the season.

Goaltender Jack Berry stopped 25 shots in the victory. 

Saturday, Frederic scored a Badger-record eight seconds into the game, but Michigan responded at 43 seconds to tie the game. The Wolverines took the lead at 4:40 of the first period for their first and only lead of the weekend.

Frederic scored his league-leading fifth short-handed point of the season with a goal at 17:51 to tie the game.

Goals by Aidan Cavallini and Jake Linhart gave UW leads of 3-2 and 4-3, but Peter Tischke finally put the Badgers ahead for good at 11:03 of the third period.

Cavallini added an empty-net tally for the 6-4 win.

Goaltender Matt Jurusik made 34 saves for the win. 

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.

SCORING IN BUNCHES
Overall, the Badgers are fourth in the league in scoring offense at 3.75 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 - 4.18
3. Ohio State - 4.10
4. Minnesota - 3.97
6. Wisconsin - 3.75 

The Badgers ranks second in Big Ten action with an average of 4.14 goals per game, trailing on Minnesota's average of 4.43 goals per contest.

Wisconsin leads in Big Ten play, allowing 3.07 goals-against per game.

RIGHT SAID FRED
Freshman forward Trent Frederic has points six consecutive games and in 11 of his last 12 contests. He also has five multi-point games in his last six contests.

He has seven goals and 12 points in his current six-game point streak and 18 points on nine goals and nine assists in his last 12 games.

One of two Badgers with double figures in goals (14), Frederic ranks second on the Badgers with 30 points.

The Badgers are 15-7-0 with Frederic in the lineup and 2-3-1 without him.

Since the beginning of 2017, Frederic leads the Badgers in scoring with 18 points on nine goals and nine assists.

Frederic ranks third among the nation's rookies with 1.36 points per game, ranking 12th among all skaters and third in the Big Ten. 

Chosen 29th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2016 NHL Draft, Frederic has 14 goals and 30 points in just 22 games this season, making him one of three Badgers averaging a point per game.

The Badgers average 4.00 goals per game with Frederic in the lineup (88 goals in 22 games), and 2.83 goals per game without him (17 goals in six games).

Frederic is tied for the national lead and leads the Big Ten with five short-handed points, boasting two goals and three assists.

HUGHES NETS
Junior forward Cameron Hughes is on a 12-game point streak, the longest of his career and the longest for the Badgers this season.

Hughes has five goals and 16 points during his 12-game streak.

Last weekend, Hughes scored a goal on Friday, than posted a career-high three assists on Saturday for a four-point weekend.

Hughes' 12-game point streak is the longest for Wisconsin since Nic Kerdiles had a 12-game point streak from Feb. 24-March 29, 2013. 

The streak is tied for the 14th-longest in school history.

Hughes is one of three Badgers averaging at least a point per game and is one point shy of reaching 30 points in a season for the first time in his career.

Having three 30-point scorers would mark the first time since the 2013–14 season that Wisconsin accomplished the feat. The 2012–13 season is the last time UW had four players with 30 points. Grant Besse (26 points) and Seamus Malone (24 points) are within striking distance. 

CAPTAIN KUNIN
Sophomore captain Luke Kunin leads the Badgers in scoring with a career-high 33 points and 19 goals. 

Kunin is averaging 0.62 goals per game for his career with 38 goals in 61 games played. That is the highest average in the country for skaters in at least their sophomore seasons. Only BU frosh Clayton Keller (0.71 in 24 GP) and UW freshman Trent Frederic (0.64 in 22 GP) have better averages.

Kunin has had a knack for scoring in the first and last minute of periods throughout his UW career. After leading the country as a frosh with nine goals and 14 points total in the first and last minutes of a period, Kunin again leads the country with six goals and 10 points coming in the first and last minute of periods. 

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 has scored the first goal in five games this season, all UW victories. 

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.

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 46-29-11 (.599 win percentage). The NCHC leads with a 48-21-14 mark (.663). Big Ten teams have completed their non-conference schedules.

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 on Nov. 18. 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.

BESSE TO 100
Senior forward Grant Besse needs five 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 26 points through 27 games played, Besse currently boasts 38 goals, 57 assists and 95 points in 130 games played.

Besse's 130 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 110 games.

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.

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
Following the trip to Minnesota, the Badgers will head to Penn State for a weekend series with the Nittany Lions. PSU swept UW on Feb.10-11 at the Kohl Center, winning the first game by a score of 6-3 and taking the second game 5-2. Friday night's matchup will start at 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on BTN Plus and available on the radio on WIBA-AM 1310. Saturday's tilt will begin at 7 p.m. CT, airing on ASN, streaming on BTN2Go and on the radio on WIBA-AM 1310.