MADISON, Wis. – To wrap up its four-game homestand, the No. 4 Wisconsin men's hockey team welcomes the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for a Big Ten series at the Kohl Center on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10. Friday's game begins at 7 p.m., while Saturday is a 6 p.m. puck drop.
Here's six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Badgers || Fighting Irish
Wisconsin Game Notes
1 - BADGERS TAKE SEASON SERIES: With a tie (shootout win)Â and an overtime loss to Minnesota at the Kohl Center last weekend and a sweep in Minneapolis in October, the Badgers won the season series over the Gophers, capturing nine out of a possible 12 Big Ten conference points.
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2 - LUCKY NUMBER 15,359: UW's Saturday, Feb. 3, game against Minnesota featured a sold out Kohl Center crowd. The 15,359 fans marked men's college hockey's largest home crowd of the season.
The atmosphere was electric as the Kohl Center sold out for the first time since 2019 and for the 46th time overall for a men's hockey game.
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Wisconsin's two-day total crowd of 28,857 for last weekend's series against No. 9 Minnesota at the Kohl Center marks its largest for a weekend since Jan. 21-22, 2011, when 29,362 watched the Badgers sweep Minnesota State.
3 - A FIGHT WITH THE IRISH: This weekend marks the second series that Wisconsin and Notre Dame will meet this season. On Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6, the then-No. 5 Badgers swept the Fighting Irish at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana.Â
The Badgers won game one, 2-1. Wisconsin and Notre Dame entered the third period even at one before sophomore forward
Charlie Stramel lit the lamp with just over eight minutes remaining in the game to give UW the victory.
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Wisconsin took the second game of the series in wild fashion with a final score of 7-4. The Badgers came out flying, scoring four goals in the first period and one in the opening four minutes of the second to lead 5-1. Halfway through the contest, Notre Dame pushed for a comeback, scoring three goals in less than three minutes. UW tallied two more goals in the final frame to earn the series sweep.
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4 - COWBOYS, TROPHIES, ALUMNI, OH MY: UW will be running promotions on both nights of the series versus Minnesota. The Friday, Feb. 2, game is Western Night. Join us for western themed music, trivia, content and more. The first 750 students in attendance will receive a free cow-print cowboy hat.
Saturday, Feb. 10, serves as 'Champions Night,' one of the six selected nights to honor the 75th season of Wisconsin men's hockey. Come and join us as we honor all six of our national championship-winning teams. Fans will be able to take a walk down Wisconsin men's hockey history and see many of the trophies the team has won over the past 75 seasons. All trophies will be available for viewing on the concourse behind Section 107. The game will also serve as alumni night as we welcome back former Badger men's hockey players.Â
5 - SCOUTING NOTRE DAME: Notre Dame currently boasts a 14-12-2 record, including an 8-8-2 ledger in Big Ten conference play. The Fighting Irish head into the weekend after splitting a home series against Michigan State, winning game one, 4-1, and losing game two, 4-0.
Senior forward Landon Slaggert currently leads the roster with 16 goals and 25 points. Graduate student goaltender Ryan Bischel has won 14 of 28 starts this season, accumulating a .929 save percentage and an average of 2.41 goals allowed per game.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. while Saturday's game starts at 6 p.m. Both contests stream on B1G+ while audio play-by-play airs on the Badgers Radio network, including 1310 WIBA in the Madison area and 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee. It also airs on the Badgers app and The Varsity Network app. Follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
