MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 19 Badger hockey team will return home from Thanksgiving ready to take on the Michigan Wolverines at the Kohl Center in its final home series before the new year.
Here are six quick things to know before watching this weekend.
1. MR. SHOOTOUT: Last Saturday at Minnesota, the Badgers found themselves down two goals going into the third period against the Gophers. The Badger went to work creating a comeback thanks to goals from
Tarek Baker and
K'Andre Miller, and the goaltending of
Jack Berry. The game ended in a tie, but Wisconsin gained the extra point in the Big Ten standings thanks to a shootout goal by senior Minnesota native
Max Zimmer. Zimmer has three shootout goals since the beginning of last season.
2. RIGHT OFF RYDER: Also in Saturday night's game versus the Gophers, freshman forward
Ryder Donovan scored his first goal as a Badger. The shot on goal from teammate
Ty Emberson hit Donovan and redirected into the goal. Wisconsin grabbed a first period lead with the goal on the way to a 3-3 tie.
3. BEST OF 2018-19: Last season, UW closed out its regular season with a pair of overtime victories over Michigan at the Kohl Center.
Sean Dhooghe scored the first overtime game-winning goal on March 2.
Then
Linus Weissbach won it on March 3 after an extra-attacker goal by
Ty Emberson got the Badgers to overtime. That came in the midst of a four-game winning streak that extended into the Big Ten tournament.
4. SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Michigan comes off a split series weekend with New Hampshire after not winning a game over four weekends. The Wolverines most notable win comes over then No. 18 Western Michigan, but losing both games to then No. 13 Ohio State. Leading scorers for Michigan include freshman forward Johnny Beecher with eight points alongside junior Jack Becker and senior Nick Pastujov with six points each. Seven Badgers sit above eight points so far this season. The expected goaltender for the Wolverines is sophomore Strauss Mann, averaging 2.14 goals allowed per game.Â
5. WISCONSIN VACATION: Fans at this Sunday's games will get to celebrate Christmas the old fashion way, like the Griswold family. The Holiday Vacation will include on-ice saucer races and light untangling. Fans can also win a membership to the Jelly of the Month Club. Sunday Kid's Day is also happening with fans age 12 and under receiving a Cousin Eddie Wisconsin alpine hat. Get a family or friends photo taken before the game in the concourse outside Section 108 (
More info).
6. HOW TO WATCH:Â The Badgers play a rare Saturday-Sunday series at the Kohl Center with Saturday at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Wisconsin+ and Sunday at 4 p.m. on BTN. Live stats and updates can be found on uwbadgers.com and by following
@BadgerMHockey on twitter.
