MADISON, Wis. — The No. 13/15 Wisconsin men's hockey team cracked the top 20 in the national rankings this week after opening the regular season with a series sweep of then-No. 10/12 Boston College last weekend at the Kohl Center. The Badgers controled the Eagles in Friday's tilt, earning a 3-0 shutout win before finishing off the sweep with a 7-5 victory on Saturday.

The Badgers continue the regular season this weekend as they head to the Empire State for a pair of non-conference games against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Puck drop for both contests is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT).    

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

Game 3 | Wisconsin at Clarkson
Date	Friday, Oct. 19 | 6 p.m. (CT)
Location	Potsdam, N.Y.  |  Cheel Arena (3,000)
Watch	ESPN+ | Stretch
Listen	WTSO 1070  |  Badger Sports Network | Listen Live
Follow	Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin
Tickets	UWBadgers.com

 

Game 4 | Wisconsin at St. Lawrence
Date	Saturday, Oct. 20 | 6 p.m. (CT)
Location	Canton, N.Y.  |  Appleton Arena (3,200)
Watch	ESPN+ | Stretch
Listen	1310 WIBA or WTSO 1070  |  Badger Sports Network | Listen Live
Follow	Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin
Tickets	UWBadgers.com

HAND ME A BROOM: Last weekend, the Badgers notched a pair of convincing wins over then-No. 10/12 BC to earn their first-ever series sweep of the Golden Eagles and Wisconsin's first season-opening sweep since the 2013-14 season.  The victorious weekend also marked the Badgers' first home series sweep since they took down Michigan in a two-game stint at the Kohl Center during the 2016-17 season.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Senior captain Peter Tischke played in his 100th game as a Badger last Friday. In 100 games for Wisconsin, Tischke has recorded 5 goals and 25 points, including a four-game point streak last season. A two-time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention pick, Tischke has led the Badgers in blocks for the past two seasons and paced the team with 79 blocks and 2.14 blocks per game last year. His block totals ranked 13th in the country while his blocks per game ranked 11th.

BERRY GOOD GOALTENDING: Earning the start in both games last weekend, junior goaltender Jack Berry stuffed nine of 11 power-play shots and 57 total shots to lead the Badgers to the sweep of BC. Berry also notched his fourth career shutout in Friday's defeat of the Eagles, marking just the sixth time UW has opened the season with a shutout. With four career clean slates, Berry now ranks 10th on Wisconsin's all-time shutout list, tied with two-time NCAA most outstanding player and Olympic goaltender Marc Behrend (1980-83).

For his performance in the net, the Holly, Michigan native was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week this past Tuesday.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS: In their first official outings as Badgers, Wisconsin's nine-member freshmen class played a pivotal role in UW's sweep of the Eagles last weekend. Three rookies tallied their first collegiate goals— two of which were game-winners— and six of the seven dressed freshman skaters recorded points, accounting for eight of the Badgers' 26 total points across the weekend. In addition, Dominick Mersch tallied his first multi-point game, dishing out two assists in UW's second game against the Eagles.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Last season, Clarkson skated to a 23-11-6 overall record and a 12-5-5 conference slate. Despite losing the team's leading scorer, Sheldon Rempal, to the Los Angeles Kings this summer, the Golden Knights return their second and third-leading scorers in juniors Nico Sturm (14 g, 36 p) and Devin Brosseau (11 g, 33 p). Junior goaltender Jake Kielly returns to backstop the Golden Knights after registering a 1.82 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in 39 games last season. Clarkson is coming off a season-opening series loss to No. 11/10 Penn State. 

The Badgers last faced Clarkson during the 2016-17 season, defeating the Golden Knights, 5-4, in Potsdam, N.Y. Then-sophomore Seamus Malone tallied a goal in the win. Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 5-3-2.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS: St. Lawrence skated to an 8-27-2 overall record and a 3-18-1 conference ledger during the 2017-18 season. The Saints lost leading scorer Mike Marnell (12 g, 22 p) to graduation and second-leading scorer Jacob Pritchard to a transfer, but retained their starting goaltender in senior Arthur Brey. Junior Carson Gicewicz returns as St. Lawrence's leading scorer with eight goals and 18 points. The Saints host the Badgers at Appleton Arena after suffering a pair of losses to Maine. 

The last time UW faced St. Lawrence, the Badgers split a series with the Saints, prevailing in the first game with a 4-2 win before falling, 6-3, in the series finale. The Badgers lead the all-time series against the Saints 13-3-1.