MADISON, Wis. – To kick off six-straight weekends of games against Big Ten opponents to end the regular-season, the No. 3 Wisconsin men's hockey team travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a series against the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27.
Here's six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Badgers || Wolverines
1 - MCCLELLAN STAYS HOT: Goaltender Kyle McClellan has continued his impressive season, recording his nation-leading sixth shutout of the year on Saturday, Jan. 13, stopping all 19 of Lindenwood's shots on goal.Â
McClellan currently leads the nation in all major goaltending statistical categories with 17 victories, 1.67 goals-against average, a .939 save percentage and six shutouts. His six shutouts are twice those of the next closest goaltender and rank second on UW's single-season list.Â
Recently, the senior was one of 32 players named to the initial watch list for the 2024 Mike Richter Award, which goes annually to the nation's top goaltender.
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2 - FINLEY'S FIRST HATTY: On Friday, Jan. 12, freshman forward
Quinn Finley recorded his first-career hat trick during the Badgers' series opener against Lindenwood. Finley's hat trick comes in his first game back in the UW lineup after winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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The freshman's hat trick is Wisconsin's third in eight games, which marks the most hat tricks recorded in a single season since 1995-96.Â
3 - WE MEET AGAIN: As the Badgers head into their final stretch of the regular season, Michigan will be Wisconsin's first repeat opponent. The two teams met earlier in the season on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4, at the Kohl Center. The Badgers swept the series, winning both games in thrilling fashion.Â
After trailing 4-2 halfway through the second period of game one, Wisconsin came back to win it 5-4, including scoring two goals in the final five-minutes of the contest.Â
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UW won game two, 2-1, with senior forward
Mathieu De St. Phalle scoring the go-ahead goal on the power play with 6.5 seconds remaining in regulation.Â
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4 - THAT WINNING FEELING:Â The Badgers posted their fourth-longest win streak in program history when they won their 10th-straight game on Jan. 12 in a 5-0 victory over Lindenwood. UW won nine of the 10 games by three goals or more. The win streak ended the next night, but UW's unbeaten streak is now at 11 games after a 3-3 tie on Jan. 13.
The Badgers' current unbeaten streak is tied for the seventh-longest in school history, four games off the record of 15 set during the 2003-04 season
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| UNBEATEN STREAK |
DATES |
| 15 (11-0-4)Â Â Â |
Oct. 24 - Dec. 27, 2003 |
| 14 (13-0-1)Â Â Â |
Oct. 16 - Nov. 28, 1981 |
| 14 (12-0-2)Â Â Â |
Oct. 21 - Dec. 3, 2005 |
| 13 (12-0-1)Â Â Â |
Dec. 27, 1997 - Jan. 31, 1998 |
| 12 (12-0-0)Â Â Â |
Jan. 14 - Feb. 19, 1977 |
| 12 (11-0-1)Â Â Â |
Nov. 4 - Dec. 22, 1972 |
| 11 (10-0-1)Â Â Â |
Nov. 25, 2023 - Current |
| 11 (9-0-2)Â Â Â |
Jan. 27 - March 2, 1996 |
| 11 (11-0-0)Â Â Â |
Dec. 4, 1982 - Jan. 21, 1983 |
| 11 (10-0-1)Â Â Â |
Feb. 26 - March 26, 1977 |
5 - SCOUTING MICHIGAN: No. 14 Michigan currently has a 11-8-3 record, including going 4-6-1 in Big Ten conference play. The Wolverines head into the weekend after splitting a series against Michigan State, winning game one, 7-1, and losing game two, 7-5.
Sophomore forwards T.J. Hughes (14g, 17a) and Rutger McGroarty (9g, 22a) share the roster lead with 31 points. Graduate student goaltender Jake Barczewski has won nine of 20 starts this season, accumulating a .904 save percentage and an average of 2.88 goals allowed per game.Â
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop for both contests is scheduled for 6 p.m. The games will be available to stream live on B1G+ while audio play-by-play can be found Friday on 1070 The Game and Saturday on 1310 WIBA in the Madison area, 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee, as well as on the Badgers app and The Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey
