Quick Six: Wisconsin vs. Boston College

Friday, October 12

Madison, WI

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

Boston College

Quick Six: Wisconsin vs. Boston College

October 10, 2018 | Men's Hockey

UW hosts No. 12 Eagles in regular season opener

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's hockey offseason came to a close last Sunday as the Badgers routed the University of Victoria, 8-2, in an exhibition opener at the Kohl Center.

Wisconsin begins regular season play this weekend with a two-game series against No. 10/12 Boston College at the Kohl Center. Both Friday and Saturday's games are scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) starts.

Here are six notes to know heading into this week's matchup against the Golden Eagles.

Game 1 \| Wisconsin vs. Boston College
Date	Friday, Oct. 12 \| 7 p.m. (CT)
Location	Madison, Wis. \| Kohl Center (15,359)
Watch	Fox Sports Wisconsin Plus \| BTN2Go
Listen	WTSO 1070 \| Badger Sports Network \| Listen Live
Follow	Live Stats \| @BadgerMHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin
Tickets	UWBadgers.com

Game 2 \| Wisconsin vs. Boston College
Date	Saturday, Oct. 13 \| 7 p.m. (CT)
Location	Madison, Wis. \| Kohl Center (15,359)
Watch	BTN Plus ($)
Listen	100.9 FM \| Badger Sports Network \| Listen Live
Follow	Live Stats \| @BadgerMHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin
Tickets	UWBadgers.com

VICTORY OVER THE VIKES: Last weekend, the Badgers overpowered the University of Victoria in an exhibition contest. After back-and-forth scoring in the first period kept the Badgers and the Vikes locked in a tie, freshman forward Dominick Mersch lit the lamp late in the opening frame to ignite a six-goal scoring run to bury the Vikes. Seven different Badgers scored in the victory, including junior forward Max Zimmer, who tallied two goals. Freshman forward Roman Ahcan and sophomore winger Sean Dhooghe led the team in scoring with three points each.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Sixteen skaters on Wisconsin's 25-man roster are underclassmen. Four of the Badgers' top six returning scorers, including UW's leading returning scorer Linus Weissbach, are sophomores. UW's seven-member sophomore class was the team's highest scoring group last year with 98 points, which ranked sixth among the nation's freshman classes.

In addition, the Badgers welcomed nine freshmen to this year's roster, three of which were drafted in the 2018 NHL Draft this past summer. In their first outing as Badgers, six rookie skaters notched points in the Badgers' win over the Vikes, accounting for 40 percent of the Badgers' points scored. The freshmen also posted 26 of UW's 72 shots on goal and were a combined plus-13 in the victory.

LAST SEASON: The Badgers ended the 2017-18 slate with a 14-19-4 overall record. UW's season came to a close after dropping the Big Ten Conference first round playoff series to then-No. 12 Michigan. Wisconsin finished in sixth-place in the Big Ten with an 8-13-3-1 conference record, and five Badgers were honored with conference awards at the end of the season. Weissbach landed a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while Trent Frederic and then-junior Peter Tischke earned Honorable Mention accolades. Defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk earned both All-Freshman and Honorable Mention nods after a stellar first season on the blue line. Tim Davison was voted Wisconsin's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award-winner.

TOUGH SLATE AHEAD: During the 2018-19 season, the Badgers will play 29 of their 34 regular-season games against teams ranked in USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. Twenty-two of the 29 will take place against the top 15 teams, including this weekend's series against BC. In addition, eight of the games will take place against teams in the top four.

The Badgers are receiving votes in each of the latest polls.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: With the addition of two standout rear guards in first-round draft pick K'Andre Miller and third-round pick Ty Emberson to an already stellar defensive unit, the Badgers' defense will likely be a key factor in this season's success. Five of Wisconsin's eight defenseman are NHL draft picks, making UW one of just four programs in the country to boast five NHL draft picks on defense. The five Badgers' defenseman drafted on the roster is the most for UW since the 2009-10 team had five drafted defensemen on the roster (Justin Schultz, Brendan Smith, Ryan McDonagh, Jake Gardiner, Cody Goloubef).

In addition, sophomore defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk was one of six unanimous picks named to the 2018-19 Big Ten Preseason Watch List. Last season, Kalynuk's 25 points had him ranked fourth in the country among the nation's rookie defensemen.

SCOUTING BC: Last season, Boston College posted a 20-14-3 overall record and an 18-5-0 conference file en route to a share of the Hockey East regular season title. BC returns its top three scorers in sophomore Logan Hutsko (12 g, 31 p) and juniors David Cotton (9 g, 28 p) and Julius Mattila (13 g, 27 p), and will also return its starting goaltender from last year in junior Joseph Woll. Projected to win the Hockey East conference in the HEA preseason coaches' poll, the No. 10 Golden Eagles head to Madison after notching an 8-1 exhibition win over New Brunswick.

In the most recent matchup between the two teams, Wisconsin traveled to Chestnut Hill to face the Golden Eagles in its first road trip of the 2017-18 season. The Badgers defeated BC, 5-2, at Conte Forum, with then-freshman Tarek Baker leading the Badgers with two points, registering one goal and adding an assist to the scoresheet. The Badgers are 11-15-0 all time against Boston College.