Battle for home ice heats up at the Kohl Center
February 08, 2018 | Men's Hockey
Badgers-Gophers meet Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m.
BATTLE FOR HOME ICE HEATS UP AT THE KOHL CENTER
No. 17/RV Wisconsin (14-13-4, 8-9-3-1 Big Ten) plays host border-rival and No. 12/9 Minnesota (16-13-1, 7-10-1-1 Big Ten) for senior weekend at the Kohl Center. In what is UW's last regular-season home series of the season, the puck drops Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Friday's game airs on BTN, while Saturday's game will be shown on Fox Sports Wisconsin Plus. The games will also stream online at BTN2Go.com and on the BTN2Go app for cable and satellite subscribers. On the radio, the action airs on 1310 WIBA and the Badger Radio Network.Â
Wisconsin split at No. 20 Michigan last weekend, dropping a 5-3 decision last Friday, before responding with a 4-2 victory on Saturday.
Minnesota was off last weekend, but split a home series against Big Ten-leading Notre Dame with a 1-0 victory on Jan. 26 and a 4-1 loss to ND on Jan. 27.
| Game 32Â | Wisconsin vs. Minnesota | |
| Date | Friday, Feb. 9 | 8 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Madison, Wis. |  Kohl Center (15,359) |
| Watch | BTN | BTN2Go |
| Listen | WIBAÂ 1310Â | Â Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
| Tickets | UWBadgers.com |
| Game 33Â | Wisconsin vs. Minnesota | |
| Date | Saturday, Feb. 3Â | 6:30 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Madison, Wis. |  Kohl Center (15,359) |
| Watch | Fox Sports Wisconsin Plus | BTN2Go |
| Listen | WIBA 1310 Â | Â Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
| Tickets | UWBadgers.com |
SERIES NOTES
Minnesota
The teams meet for the 287th and 288th times, the most for the Badgers in school history.
Wisconsin and Minnesota's records differ slightly in the all-time record of the series.
Five of the last six meetings between the two schools have been decided by one goal, including one overtime game, and the series is 3-3-0 over the last two seasons.
UW senior forward Matt Ustaski's best career game point-wise came against Minnesota when he scored a goal and two assists on Jan. 30, 2015 in a 7-5 Wisconsin loss.  Â
LAST MEETINGS
Wisconsin 3, Minnesota 2
December 2, 2017
Minnesota scored an early power-play goal to grab a 1-0 lead just 3:01 into the game at Mariucci Arena, but fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to end up with a 3-2 victory.
After Casey Mittelstadt scored for Minnesota, Matthew Freytag tallied at 12:25 of the first period to even the game.Â
Minnesota regained the lead on a Jack Sadek goal at 2:26 of the second frame, but again UW responded, this time by a Seamus Malone marker.
UW took its first lead of the game at 10:40 of the final period on a goal by Trent Frederic to make the final score 3-2.
Jack Berry finished with 40 saves in the contest to earn the victory.
The Badgers were 0-for-5 on the power play, and 2-for-3 on the kill in the game.
Minnesota 5, Wisconsin 4
December 1, 2017
The Badgers grabbed the lead with a power-play goal by Sean Dhooghe at 7:14, but Minnesota responded 2:06 later on a Mike Szmatula tally.
Jarod Zirbel gave UW its lead back at 17:21 of the first frame and UW took a 2-1 lead into intermission.
Minnesota then exploded for four goals in the second, one at 5:13 to tie the game, another at 11:54 for a 3-2 lead, then goals at 15:19 and 15:39 by Tyler Nanne and Scott Reedy to make it 5-2.
The Badgers were not dead, however, as Tarek Baker scored before the second frame ended, and Trent Frederic scored on the power play midway through the final period to make it a 5-4 deficit.Â
That was as close as UW would get. They outshot Minnesota, 39-28, and went 2-for-6 on the power play. UW killed four of five penalites.
BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSINÂ BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 34-28-5 (2nd Year)
Overall: 34-28-5 (2nd Year)
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Head Coach: Don Lucia
Record at UM: 454-244-72 (19th Year)
Overall: 733-399-101 (31st Year)
BY THE NUMBERS
8 - Wisconsin will recognize its eight seniors this Saturday at the Kohl Center. That is the largest class for the Badgers since the 2013–14 squad had nine seniors complete their eligibility. They include Tim Davison, Jason Ford, Kyle Hayton, Cameron Hughes, Cullen Hurley, Jake Linhart, Matt Ustaski and Ryan Wagner.
6 -Â Sophomore Trent Frederic's six-point weekend last week at Michigan, on two goals and four assists, marked the first for a Badger since March 7-8, 2014, when both Mark Zengerle and Nic Kerdiles had six points on two goals and four assists in a road sweep at Penn State.
17 -Â Freshman defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk leads all Big Ten rookies and all Big Ten rear guards with 17 points in Big Ten action. He is one point clear of teammate Linus Weissbach among rookies and four points clear of all Big Ten blue liners.
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
With four games remaining in its regular season, the Badgers sit alone in third place with 28 points, one better than Michigan and three points ahead Penn State.This week's opponent, Minnesota, is sixth with 23 points, but has played two fewer games. Notre Dame leads the Big Ten with 47 points, with Ohio State (34 points) in second place.Â
Wisconsin's goaltending tandem of sophomore Jack Berry and senior Kyle Hayton are near the top of the Big Ten leaders when looking at league contests. Berry ranks second in league save percentage with a .918 mark, while his 2.80 goals-against average ranks third. Hayton's 2.88 goals-against average is fourth-best during Big Ten contests.
Senior Cullen Hurley notched his first goal of the season and the second of his career last Saturday in UW's 4-2 victory at Michigan. The tally, his first in 24 games dating back to Oct. 29, 2016, at Clarkson, proved to be the game-winning goal for Wisconsin. The Eagan, Minnesota, native boasts two goals and six points in 30 games played as both a forward and defenseman for the Badgers.
Head coach Tony Granato will miss this weekend's series against Minnesota because he will be in PyeongChang, South Korea, serving as head coach of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team. Associate head coaches Mark Osiecki and Mark Strobel will run the Badgers.
The Badgers are 7-7-3 at the Kohl Center this season with a chance to finish with a winning record at home for the first time since the 2013–14 squad went 17-2-1 at the Kohl Center.Â
The top four teams in the Big Ten standings after the regular season ends are guaranteed to play host to at least one round of the Big Ten playoffs.
The line of Linus Weissbach, Trent Frederic and Ryan Wagner has been a force over the last five games. They have combined for 10 goals and 23 points during the stretch, accounting for half of the 20 goals UW has tallied during the five games.
In 10 games played during February during his career, Frederic has at least one point in every game, and boasts 10 goals and 20 points.
Senior forward Ryan Wagner has played in all 141 games that Wisconsin has played during his career.
CROWDSOURCING
The Badgers had their biggest crowd of the season on Jan. 13 when 13,735 fans showed up at the Kohl Center for its game against Michigan State. Last Saturday, UW drew 13,689 fans for its game against Penn State.
Those marked the largest crowds since 14,868 saw UW beat Minnesota, 5-3, on Jan. 21, 2017.Â
This Saturday's crowd will be the largest of the season.
A PERFECT 10
UW has four 10-goal scorers, led by sophomore forward Trent Frederic's 14 markers. Wagner (13), as well as Malone and freshmen forward Tarek Baker boast 10 goals.Â
The four double-digit goal-scorers equals UW's total from last season when Luke Kunin (22 goals), Frederic (15), Malone (10) and Will Johnson (10) each reached the mark.
Other Badgers with the best chance to reach the mark this season include freshman forward Linus Weissbach (eight goals), senior forward Cameron Hughes (seven), junior forward Johnson (six) and freshman forward Sean Dhooghe (six).
Prior to Baker this season, Luke Kunin's 19 goals as a freshman in 2015–16 is the most recent occurrence of a rookie surpassing 10 goals.Â
You have to go back to the 2005–06 season to find the last time two UW freshmen reach 10 goals in the same season when both Jack Skille (13 goals) and Ben Street (10 goals) reached double-figures in goals.Â
WAGNER LEADS THE WAY
Senior forward Ryan Wagner, the reigning Big Ten Second Star of the Week, paces the Badgers with 29 points this season.
Wagner boasts a five-game point streak with fourth goals and four assists for eight points. The five-game streak matches his career-long that he has done on two prior occassions.
Wagner also has goals in three consecutive games after scoring two goals last Friday, then one goal last Saturday at Michigan.
UW's leader this season with eight multi-point games, and its current career leader with 18 multi-point efforts, he had three consecutive multi-point games before only scoring one goal last Saturday.
Wagner's 29 points are a career-high.
His 13 goals this season are also a career best.
THIRD PERIODS ARE KEY
Third periods have been key to the Badgers' success this season. UW is 10-3-2 when outscoring its opponents in the final frame, but just 2-8-2 when getting outscored in the third stanza.
That proved opposite of what happened last weekend as UW won last Friday's third period, 2-1, but lost 5-3. Saturday, Michigan outscored the Badgers in the third period, 1-0, but UW claimed a 4-2 triumph.
The Badgers have outscored opponents 101-90 this season, including 33-26 in the first period and 31-30 in the second period and 37-33 in third periods. UW has been edged 1-0 in overtimes.
The Badgers have scored first in 18 of 31 games this season and sit 11-6-1 in those contests. However, UW has the first goal just three times in its last 11 games.
SHORT-HANDED EXPLOSION
After going the first 24 games of the season without a short-handed goal, the Badgers have scored three in the last seven games, and have a fourth goal on a penalty shot drawn while UW was shorthanded.
Three of the four goals have come off the stick of sophomore forward Trent Frederic. He scored a short-handed goal in UW's 5-2 victory against Michigan State on Jan. 13, scored on a penalty shot at Notre Dame that he drew with a short-handed breakaway on Jan. 19, then scored a short-handed goal on Sunday, Jan. 21 in Chicago against the Fighting Irish in UW's 5-0 victory. Senior forward Ryan Wagner added his first career short-handed goal on Jan. 27 in a 4-4 tie against Penn State.
Prior to Jan. 13, UW hadn't scored shorthanded since Feb. 24, 2017, from an Aidan Cavallini tally at Minnesota.
SPECIAL TEAMS
UW is 20th nationally with its 20.5 percent power play (25-for-122), which is third in the Big Ten. UW was 3-for-23 last weekend against Michigan.
This week's opponent, Minnesota, ranks 24th in the country with an 82.1 percent penalty kill (96-for-117).
The Badgers went 2-for-11 on the power play against Minnesota when the teams met earlier this season for a series. The UW penalty kill was 6-for-8 in the series. Â
Wisconsin's penalty kill is 104-for-127 (81.9 percent) on the season, ranking fifth in the Big Ten and 27th nationally.Â
Michigan's power play is 54th in the country at 13.0 percent (16-for-123), good for last in the Big Ten.
AND THE FRESHMEN SHALL LEAD THEM
Wisconsin's seven-member freshman class paces the Badgers in scoring with 88 points, eight more than UW's eight-member senior group (80). UW's eight juniors own 63 points, while the five sophomores account for 35 points.Â
Badger freshmen Linus Weissbach (goal, three assists), Wyatt Kalynuk (goal, assist), Josh Ess (goal) and Tyler Inamoto (assist) each recorded points last weekend for UW.
With 88 points (30 goals, 58 assists), Wisconsin's freshmen share third among national rookie classes in scoring this season.
FRESHMAN SCORING
| RK | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1. | Massachusetts | 121 |
| 2. | Bowling Green | 100 |
| 3. | Wisconsin | 88 |
| Minnesota State | 88 | |
| 5. | Boston University | 84 |
| Minnesota Duluth | 84 |
Kalynuk's 22 points have him tied for second in the country among the nation's rookie rear guards, three behind Minnesota Duluth defenseman Scott Perunovich.
BLOCKED SHOTS
Junior defenseman Peter Tischke is third in the country with 68 blocks in 31 games played, while his 2.19 blocks per game ranks sixth in the nation. He led the Badgers last season with 60 blocks, including an 11-block contest in a 3-2 victory over Minnesota on Feb. 24.
WHERE THEY RANK
A handful of Badgers rank among the top players in the Big Ten in various categories.
| 7t. Wagner | 29 points |
| 3. Frederic | 14 goals |
| 8t. Kalynuk | 19 assists |
| 3t. Kalynuk | 13 power-play points |
| 1t. Wagner | 7 power-play goals |
| 2t. Frederic | 2 short-handed goals |
| 5t. Malone | 3 game-winners |
| 2. Kalynuk | 22 points (D-men) |
| 2t. Kalynuk | 22 points (Freshmen) |
| Weissbach | |
| 2. Wisconsin | 3.26 goals/game |
| 4. Wisconsin | 2.90 GA/game |
| 3. Wisconsin | 20.4% power play |
| 5. Wisconsin | 81.9% penalty kill |
JOHANNSONÂ PASSES AWAY
Jim Johannson, the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team general manager, passed away last weekend at the age of 53. The former Badger, who helped UW to the 1983 NCAA championship, had been with USA Hockey since 2000 in various roles, including assistant executive director of hockey operations since 2007.
As a Badger, Johannson scored 63 goals, 67 assists and 130 points in 148 games played from 1982-86. He was also a part of Wisconsin's 1983 NCAA championship team.
Among the numerous accomplishment during his USA Hockey tenure, among the most significant were capturing 64 medals in major international competition, including 34 gold, 19 silver and 11 bronze; the launching and implementation of the highly acclaimed American Development Model; and securing USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, as a home for all U.S. teams to utilize.
"We lost a true friend in Jim Johannson today," Wisconsin and U.S. Olympic coach Tony Granato said. "He was so compassionate and as loyal a friend as you could have. He was the ultimate teammate.
"I am deeply saddened and shocked and sorry that he is no longer with us. He was a special human being. Please pray for Jim's wife and daughter, Abby and Ellie."
LUNDEEN PASSES AWAY
Dave Lundeen, 1977 NCAA champion at Wisconsin, and one of four brothers to play for the Badgers, passed away on Jan. 25 of cancer.
Lundeen 60 goalsd and 141 points in 141 games at Wisconsin.Â
He was a Rochester, Minnesota, native, who made his home in the Madison, Wisconsin area.Â
OF PENALTY SHOTS
Freshman forward Tarek Baker's successful penalty shot against Ohio State on Oct. 6 marked the fourth penalty shot goal in the last five seasons for the Badgers. Freshman forward Sean Dhooghe made it five in five seasons with his penalty-shot goal on Nov. 4 against North Dakota. Prior to the last five years, UW went 16 seasons without a successful penalty shot.Â
Sophomore Trent Frederic took the Badgers' third successful penalty shot of the season on Jan. 19 against Notre Dame. That was the sixth in five seasons.
The three penalty-shot goals are the most for a season in UW history. UW had never had a season with more than one.
The Badgers have scored on five consecutive penalty shot attempts.Â
Both Baker's and Sean Dhooghe's penalty shot goals marked their first career goals as Badgers. That makes them the first UW skaters to score their first goal on a penalty shot.
UW allowed its first successful penalty shot last Saturday since the 2009–10 campaign when Penn State's Brandon Biro beat UW's Jack Berry in the second period in a 4-4 tie.Â
UW opponents had failed on their last three penalty-shot attempts as Berry stopped Minnesota's Jack Ramsey on Dec. 2, while Michigan's Brendan Warren was stopped by Matt Jurusik on Dec. 4, 2015, and Joel Rumpel saved Michigan State's Joe Cox on March 15, 2014. The last successful attempt came from the stick of Minnesota State's Kael Mouillierat on Feb. 12, 2010.
DOUBLE DHOOGHE
When Sean and Jason Dhooghe each scored their first career goals in the same game on Nov. 4 against North Dakota, they became the first brothers in UW history to accomplish the feat. They also became the sixth brother combination to score goals in the same game, including most recently current UW associate head coach Mark Strobel, and his twin brother, Mike, who both scored on Nov. 19, 1993 against Colorado College. They were the third Badger twin brothers to both score in the same game.
First OccurrenceÂ
|
HEY, HAYTON
Goaltender Kyle Hayton joins the Badgers as a graduate transfer from St. Lawrence University, where he was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Year and a second-team All-American in 2016-17.Â
Hayton, a native of Denver, was one of 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award. He started 35 of the Saints' 37 contests while posting a .929 save percentage and five shutouts.
Hayton finished his time at SLU as the leader in career wins, appearances, saves, shutouts and goals-against average in just three seasons of play.
Had Hayton played his first three years at Wisconsin, he would currently rank in the top-five on the all-time UW list for career save percentage (.929, second), shutouts (13, second), wins (61, fourth), goals-against average (2.20, second) and saves (3,509, third).
Hayton entered the season with numbers that rank among the best in the country among the nation's goaltenders. His 3,079 saves were No. 1, as was his .934 save percentage. He ranked second with 54 victories in goal, while his 13 shutouts also ranked second.Â
B1G ADDITION
Notre Dame is now the seventh member of the Big Ten for hockey after spending the last four seasons as a member of Hockey East. The Fighting Irish were CCHA members prior to that.
UND reached the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four semifinals, before eventual national champion Denver eliminated the Fighting Irish.
UND visits the Kohl Center for a Dec. 8-9 series, while UW visits South Bend, Indiana, for a series on Jan. 19-20.
The Big Ten moves to a three-week playoff with best-of-three series on campus sites, then a semifinal game and championship game at campus sites of the higher seed. The top seed will get a first-round bye.
OLYMPICS UPDATES
Badgers' head coach Tony Granato was named head coach of the United States' men's hockey team competing in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
As a player, Granato represented Team USA in the 1988 Winter Games. He also served as an assistant coach for the Americans at the 2014 Olympics.
Joining Granato on the bench as an assistant coach will be former UW defenseman, four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic captain Chris Chelios. General manager for Team USA was Jim Johannson, who played with Granato at Wisconsin and on the 1988 Olympic team. Johannson also skated for Team USA at the 1992 Olympics. Johannson passed away the weekend of Jan. 20.
Granato joins Peter Laviolette, John Garrison, Jack Riley and Herb Brooks on a short list of coaches who have played in the Olympics for Team USA and later coached the American squad in the Games.
Granato joins Bob Johnson, who guided the Americans in 1976, as Wisconsin men's coaches who have been tabbed to coach Team USA.
Granato will depart next week and is expected to miss UW's series against Minnesota (Jan. 9-10) and at Ohio State (Feb. 23-24).Â
OLYMPIC NOTES
There has been at least one Wisconsin men's hockey player competing at every Olympics dating back to 1976. In all but 1994, there have been at least two Badgers in each Olympics.
Two former Badgers will skate for Team Canada as forward Rene Bourque (2000–04) and defenseman Cody Goloubef (2007–10) were named to the squad.
Bourque and Goloubef are the fifth and sixth Badgers who will have represented Team Canada at the Olympics: Bruce Driver and Patrick Flatley (1984), Curtis Joseph (1998 and 2002), Dany Heatley (2006, 2010). Both Joseph and Heatley won gold medals.
They are the 24th and 25th Badgers to skate in the Olympics all-time.Â
Team USA opens play against Slovenia on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 6:10 a.m. CT, while Canada's first contest takes place on Thursday, Feb. 15 against Switzerland, also at 6:10 a.m.Â
OLYMPIC SCHEDULE (CT)
Preliminary Rounds
Feb. 14 - USA vs. Slovenia- 6:10 a.m.
Feb. 15 - Canada vs. Switzerland- 6:10 a.m.
Feb. 15 - USA vs. Slovakia - 9:10 p.m.
Feb. 16 - Canada vs. Czech Rep. - 9:10 p.m.
Feb. 17 - USA vs. Russia - 6:10 a.m.
Feb. 18 - Canada vs. S. Korea - 6:10 a.m.
100 GAMES
Eight Badgers have skated in at least 100 games played with senior forward Ryan Wagner leading the way (137 GP). Also over the 100 games-played threshold are senior defenseman Jake Linhart (136), senior forward Cameron Hughes (133), senior defenseman Tim Davison (127), senior forward Jason Ford (105) and junior forwards Will Johnson (101) and Seamus Malone (100). Graduate transfer goaltender Kyle Hayton has also played in 127 games.
Two others, including Matt Ustaski (94) and Peter Tischke (93), are within striking distance of 100 games played.
UW boasted seven skaters last season with at least 100 games played, the most since the 2013–14 Badgers had 11 skaters over 100 career games played.
100 POINTS
A couple of Wisconsin seniors have an outside chance at reaching 100 career points as Cameron Hughes has 89 career points and Ryan Wagner boasts 84 career points.Â
Should either reach the mark, they would be the first Badgers since the 2013–14 season to break the mark. That year, both Michael Mersch (120 points) and Tyler Barnes (101 points) eclipsed the mark.
CAPTAINS
Senior forward Cameron Hughes was named team captain after serving as an alternate captain in 2016-17.Â
The four Badgers joining Hughes as alternate captains are senior forward Ryan Wagner and senior defenseman Jake Linhart, as well as junior forward Seamus Malone and sophomore forward Trent Frederic.
The five-member leadership crew is the largest in program history, not counting the three seasons during which the Badgers have rotated and had game captains.
UW has had combinations of four captains and assistant captains on six prior occasions, including most recently during the 2012-13 season when captain John Ramage had assistant help from Ryan Little, Derek Lee and Frankie Simonelli.
FEELING A DRAFT
Wisconsin begins the season with nine NHL draft picks on its roster.Â
UW had four players selected in 2017, including three defensemen. That marks the first time since 2008 that three Badger defensemen were chosen by NHL teams.
Defenseman Tyler Inamoto (5th round, 133rd overall) was the highest pick for the Badgers in this year's draft, followed by defensemen Wyatt Kalynuk (196th) and Josh Ess (215th), both in the seventh round.
Forward Linus Weissbach was also selected in the seventh round, going 192nd overall.
This marks the second consecutive year that four Badgers were chosen in the NHL Draft.
CURRENT UW DRAFT PICKSÂ Â Â
| NAME | TEAM | YEAR | RD./PICK |
| Trent Frederic | Boston | 2016 | 1/29 |
| JD Greenway | Toronto | 2016 | 3/72 |
| Max Zimmer | Carolina | 2016 | 4/104 |
| Tyler Inamoto | Florida | 2017 | 5/133 |
| Cameron Hughes | Boston | 2015 | 6/165 |
| Matt Ustaski | Winnipeg | 2014 | 7/192 |
| Linus Weissbach | Buffalo | 2017 | 7/192 |
| Wyatt Kalynuk | Philadelphia | 2017 | 7/196 |
| Josh Ess | Chicago | 2017 | 7/215 |
COACHING THEM UP
All three Wisconsin coaches are Badgers' alumni with head coach Tony Granato (1983–87), associate head coach Mark Osiecki (1987–90) and associate head coach Mark Strobel (1991–95) all having skated for UW.
Granato, who completed his degree last year during his first season as UW head coach, will face a similar challenge this season as the 2018 U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team head coach.Â
UW's director of hockey operations Shane Connelly gives UW two former Badger athletes with NCAA titles on their resume. Connelly was a member of UW's 2006 NCAA title-winning team, while Osiecki played for the Badgers' 1990 NCAA championship team. Osiecki also served as an assistant coach for the 2006 team during his first coaching stint at UW.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin has a bye week Feb. 16-17, then travels to Ohio State, Feb. 23-24, for the final regular-season series of the year.Â
