MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin men's hockey wraps up the regular seasons this week when they travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a two-game series against No. 10 Penn State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
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Penn State
1 - FLIPPED THE SCRIPT: The Badgers rallied over the Michigan State Spartans 6-2 on Saturday in their final matchup at the Kohl Center after falling by the same score the previous night.
2 - C'EST LA VIE, SENIORS: Prior to puck drop last Saturday, the Badgers honored seniors Brock Caufield, Shay Donovan, Jack Gorniak, Owen Lindmark, Dominick Mersch, and Mike Vorlicky for their impact and dedication to Wisconsin hockey.
Gorniak, a fifth-year graduate student, scored in the second period and added an assist for his first multipoint game of the season. He also found the back of the net on Friday for two goals and three points in the series.
Caulfield, also a fifth-year graduate student, also tallied a pair of assists and is on pace to become the 10th Badger in history to reach 170 games.
Moe stood tall in net all night long with 25 saves.
3 - FRESHMAN FRENZY: Four freshmen notched points against Michigan State. Charlie Stramel recorded his first three-point series with a trio of assists, including a helper on Mathieu De St. Phalle's game-winning goal on Saturday.
Badgers' leading scorer Cruz Lucius also tallied a pair of assists in Wisconsin's 6-2 victory over the Spartans. Freshmen Tyson Jugnauth and Ben Dexheimer also recorded assists in the series.
Lucius boasts 31 points on 10 goals and 21 assists through 32 games this season. That makes him the 11th freshman dating back to the 1999-2000 season to eclipse 30 points for a season (Cole Caufield, Trent Frederic, Luke Kunin, Nic Kerdiles, Mark Zengerle, Craig Smith, Derek Stepan, Kyle Turris, Joe Pavelski, Dany Heatley).
4 - THREE-POINT MATTY: Junior forward Mathieu De St. Phalle found the back of the net twice and set up Carson Bantle for a three-point night, his second of the season.
De St. Phalle netted what would become the game-winning goal in the second period when he knocked in a back-door pass from Lucius and Stramel. He added an empty-net goal from way back on the far blue line late in the third to seal the deal on the Badgers' victory.
5 - SCOUTING PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions suffered a sweep at the hands of Minnesota last weekend on home ice. They fell 7-2 on Friday before dropping Saturday's game 3-2 after Minnesota's Matthew Knies tied the game with 41 seconds remaining and scored the game-winner in overtime.
Senior forward Kevin Wall tops the roster with 14 goals and 10 assists in 32 games, followed by fellow senior Ture Linden with eight goals and 16 assists in 32 games.
Junior Liam Souliere leads the goaltending tandem with a .909 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average.
The Nittany Lions started the season 8-0-0 after taking games at the Kohl Center on Oct. 28 and 29, but have since gone 11-12-1. UW is 10-14-0 over that same stretch.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop on Friday is set for 6 p.m. Saturday's game is slated for 4 p.m. Stream both games on B1G+ or listen on the radio at 1310 WIBA. Follow along on Twitter at @BadgerMHockey
