MADISON, WIS. – The Wisconsin men's hockey team travels to Bemidji, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, North Dakota, to participate in the Ice Breaker Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13 and 14.
Here's six quick things to know before tuning in:
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1 - A GREAT START: Wisconsin enters the tournament following a great to start to its next chapter after a sweep of the Augustana Vikings last weekend. The Badgers won game one on Saturday, 4-0, and game two on Sunday, 3-0.
During the first series, six different players scored their first point in the Cardinal and White, including sophomore forward and Minnesota State transfer Christian Fitzgerald, who scored his first goal just 70 seconds into the first period on Saturday.
2 - MAKING HISTORY: Senior goaltender
Kyle McClellan made history as the first Wisconsin goaltender to record back-to-back shutouts in the same weekend versus the same team. He saved 18 shots on Sunday after 25 on Saturday for a weekend total of 43 stops.
McClellan's stellar performance in net also earned him Big Ten Third Star of the Week honors.
New head coach
Mike Hastings also earned his place in the Wisconsin record book by becoming the first men's hockey coach to win his first two games as a Badger. His game one victory also marked his 300th total NCAA win.
3 - FIRSTS FOR FINLEY: Freshman forward
Quinn Finley scored his first two NCAA goals in game one of the series versus Augustana. The last time a Wisconsin freshman scored twice in their NCAA debut was when Cole Caufield first took the ice versus Boston College in 2019.
Finley also had an assist on Saturday night, bringing his point total to three over two games.
4 - ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Wisconsin is headed to the 27th annual Ice Breaker Tournament with this one co-hosted by Bemidji State and North Dakota. The tournament brings together four of the top teams in the country and marks the traditional start of the college hockey season. The Badgers last played in the Ice Breaker ine 2010 where they lost a controversial 4-3 game to Boston University and won 6-0 versus Holy Cross. In the BU contest, John Ramage scored the tying goal but it was missed. UW scored a second tying goal, but that was disallowed.
The tournament marks the first of three straight weekends of road trips for the Badgers, who will be playing at Michigan Tech on Oct. 20 and 21 and at Minnesota on Thursday, Oct. 26, and Friday, Oct. 27.
5 - SCOUTING THE COMPETITION: Wisconsin will first play Bemidji State on Friday, Oct. 13 before traveling to North Dakota on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Badgers last played Bemidji State in Minnesota during the 2012-13 season when both teams were part of the WCHA. The Beavers are entering the tournament following a 5-2 exhibition loss at Minnesota on Sunday.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks played an exhibition game at home against the University of Manitoba on Oct. 7 and won 10-0. That included a hat trick from freshman forward Jayden Perron. UND will officially open its season on day one of the tournament versus Army before playing Wisconsin on day two.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday the 13th versus Bemidji State and 6 p.m. on Saturday the 14th versus North Dakota. Stream Friday's game on flohockey.tv and tune into 1310 WIBA for the radio play-by-play. Saturday's game is available to stream on NCHC.tv and on the Fox Sports 1070 radio channel. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
