MADISON, Wis. — After a thrilling regular-season finale at the Kohl Center last weekend, the Wisconsin men's hockey team is set to begin postseason play at the Big Ten tournament. Earning the fifth seed, the Badgers travel to fourth-seeded Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions in a best-of-three series at Pegula Ice Arena.

Friday's contest is set for a 7 p.m. start, and both Saturday and Sunday's contests are slated for 5 p.m. puck drops (CT).

GAME 1 UPDATE: Thrice as Nice: Dhooghe's hat trick powers Wisconsin past Nittany Lions
GAME 2 UPDATE: Four-goal second period leads Penn State past Wisconsin

Here are six notes to know ahead of the Badgers' playoff opener against the Nittany Lions.
 

Game 35 | Wisconsin at Penn State
Date	Friday, March 8 | 7 p.m. (CT)
Location	University Park, Pa. | Pegula Ice Arena (5,782)
Watch	BTN Plus ($)
Listen	1310 WIBA |  Badger Sports Network | Listen Live
Follow	Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin (PDF)
Tickets	Tickets

 

Game 36 | Wisconsin at Penn State
Date	Saturday, March 9 | 5 p.m. (CT)
Location	University Park, Pa. | Pegula Ice Arena (5,782)
Watch	BTN Plus ($)
Listen	1310 WIBA |  Badger Sports Network | Listen Live
Follow	Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin (PDF)
Tickets	Tickets

 

Game 37 | Wisconsin at Penn State (If Necessary)
Date	Sunday, March 10 | 5 p.m. (CT)
Location	University Park, Pa. | Pegula Ice Arena (5,782)
Watch	BTN Plus ($)
Listen	1070 WTSO |  Badger Sports Network | Listen Live
Follow	Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey
Game Notes	Wisconsin (PDF)
Tickets	Tickets

HOW SWEEP IT IS: Last weekend, the Badgers swept Michigan in their final regular-season series of the year, notching a pair of back-to-back overtime wins to secure the fifth seed in the Big Ten tournament this weekend. Sophomore forwards Sean Dhooghe and Linus Weissbach each lit the lamp in overtime to power the Badgers past the Wolverines, and senior Matthew Freytag recorded a pair of goals in the series.

The weekend marked the first pair of consecutive overtime wins at the Kohl Center since Jan. 14-15, 2000, when UW defeated North Dakota twice in extra time thanks to back-to-back goals from former Badger David Hukalo.

B1G WEEKEND FOR DHOOGHE: Sophomore forward Sean Dhooghe was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week after notching four points, including a game-winning overtime tally, to tie the Big Ten points lead for the weekend and propel the Badgers to a sweep over Michigan last weekend.

UW's leader with 12 goals in 34 games, Dhooghe shares fourth on the team in scoring with 22 points. Dhooghe has registered a point in four of the last five games, tallying three goals and six points in the stretch. The award marks Dhooghe's third weekly honor this season, and the latest weekly nod for a Wisconsin skater since he was named first star for his two-goal, two-assist performance against Michigan State last December.

POINTS, POINTS, POINTS: Sophomores Wyatt Kalynuk and Linus Weissbach, and senior Seamus Malone share the team lead in scoring with 23 points apiece. Kalynuk owns nine goals and 14 assists, while Malone boasts eight goals and 15 assists in 34 games. Appearing in 10 less games due to injury, Weissbach has seven goals and 16 assists and is averaging nearly a point per game.

With six points in the last eight games and 23 total points, Kalynuk is now just two points away from matching his freshman season scoring totals. Last season, the Virden, Manitoba, native's 25 points were the most points for any defenseman at Wisconsin since 2013–14 when Jake McCabe had 25 points.

BADGERS IN THE B1G TOURNEY: The Badgers enter the 2019 Big Ten tournament with a 3-5-0 all-time record in the tourney. Wisconsin won the inaugural Big Ten tournament crown during the 2013-14 season, defeating Ohio State, 5-4, in overtime. Other notable tournament appearances include in 2017 when Wisconsin fell just short of an NCAA tournament berth, dropping a 2-1 decision in double-overtime to Penn State in the championship game.

The Badgers were knocked out of last year's playoffs by Michigan, falling 5-6 and 4-7 in a best-of-three series at Yost Arena. The Wolverines moved on to the single-elimination semifinal round, but lost to Ohio State, 3-2, in overtime.

CATCHING FIRE: With the sweep of the Wolverines, Wisconsin has now won three-straight contests, beginning with a dominant 7-3 victory over then-No. 19  Penn State on Feb. 23 at Pegula Ice Arena. Across the three-game stretch, the Badgers have scored 16 goals, 12 of which have come from UW underclassmen. Sophomore Linus Weissbach leads UW in scoring in the stretch with two goals and four points, and sophomore defenseman Josh Ess and senior Matthew Freytag each have three goals.

The Badgers achieved the same win streak earlier in the season after defeating the Nittany Lions, 7-5, at the Kohl Center and notching a pair of home wins over Michigan State last December.

SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS: Seeded fourth in the Big Ten tournament, Penn State enters the weekend with the nation's top-ranked offense (4.62 GPG) and a 19-13-2 overall record in 34 games. The Nittany Lions finished fourth in the Big Ten standings  with 35 points, just one point better than Wisconsin, and an 11-12-1-1 conference record.

Penn State boasts many of the nation's top leading scorers including sophomores Evan Barratt and Alex Limoges. Limoges is tied for fifth in the country with 17 goals and 41 points in 34 games, while Barratt shares 11th with 16 goals and 39 points in 28 contests. Penn State goaltender Peyton Jones owns a 3.47  goals against average and an .896 save percentage through 27 games this year.

The Badgers' and Nittany Lions' last meetings came just two weeks at Pegula Ice Arena. Wisconsin opened the series with a dismal 8-2 loss before bouncing back with a dominant 7-3 win over the Nittany Lions. Sophomores Josh Ess and Linus Weissbach led the Badgers in scoring with three points apiece, and Ess notched his first multi-goal performance in Wisconsin's 7-3 victory.