MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's hockey team enters its final weekend of regular season play by welcoming the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the Kohl Center on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22.Â
Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. and air on the Big Ten Network.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Wisconsin || Notre Dame
Game Notes: Wisconsin
1 - THE PEOPLE MAKE THE PLACE: Through 16 home games, Wisconsin has an average attendance of 10,180, welcoming 162,883 fans to the Kohl Center. UW currently ranks second in average attendance behind North Dakota (11,616).Â
Wisconsin has been top three in the nation in attendance since the 1969-70 season (excluding the 2020-21 season as UW did not host crowds at La Bahn Arena due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and it has led the NCAA in attendance on 38 occasions.Â
For the 2024-25 season, UW has hosted crowds of over 10,000 eight times and played host to the highest-attended men's college hockey home game of the year when 13,063 people attended Wisconsin's game against Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 25.Â
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This weekend, the Badgers are expecting 11,000+ fans to be at the Kohl Center on both nights of the series against Notre Dame.
2 - PENALTY KILL POWER: The Badgers' penalty kill continues to be hot as it sits second in the Big Ten in penalty kill percentage with 81.6 percent. Last weekend, the Badgers killed four of four Ohio State power plays, including killing a five-minute major UW penalty, to bring its total to five power-play goals allowed over the last 21 games (40-for-45).Â
Wisconsin also continues to be one of the most disciplined teams in the nation as it's currently 44th in the NCAA in average penalty minutes per game with 8.53.Â
3 - SENIOR SALUTE: Wisconsin will be running promotions on both nights of the series against Notre Dame to celebrate its final two regular season games at the Kohl Center this year.
On Friday, the first 100 students in attendance will receive a Crease Creatures-themed T-shirt.Â
On Saturday, the first 200 students in line will receive free Toppers Pizza.
Saturday is Senior Night, and the Badgers will recognize four skaters who will finish their eligibility this season: defenseman Daniel Laatsch, goaltender Tommy Scarfone and forwards Ryland Mosley and Cody Laskosky. Sixth-year Owen Lindmak and fifth-year Anthony Kehrer will also play in their last regular-season home games.Â
Fans can buy tickets to this weekend's games
here.
4 - LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers enter the series after suffering 4-1 and 4-2 losses at No. 8 Ohio State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14-15.
In game one, the Badgers got on the board first but were unable to hold onto their lead as they fell, 4-1. Wisconsin opened the scoring with 2:50 left in the first period after
Jack Horbach found the back of the net. Ohio State struck twice in the second period, once 15:36 into the frame and again with 31 seconds left, to take a 2-1 lead. The Buckeyes scored again 1:40 into the third period to make it 3-1 before adding an empty netter with nine seconds remaining to earn a 4-1 victory.Â
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In game two, an OSU goal with three minutes left in the game proved to be the difference as UW fell, 4-2. Ohio State opened the scoring with 1:42 remaining in the first period. Wisconsin rebounded early in the second as
Ryland Mosley and
Ryan Botterill struck in the opening two minutes of the frame to give the Badgers a 2-1 lead. The Buckeyes then tied the game at two 5:51 into the second period. With three minutes left in the game, OSU scored the go-ahead goal before adding an empty-net tally with 10 seconds left to secure a 4-2 victory.
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5 - SCOUTING NOTRE DAME: The Fighting Irish currently have a 9-20-1 record, including a 3-16-1 record (11 points) in Big Ten play. They head into the series after suffering 5-3 and 3-2 losses at Penn State last weekend.
Sophomore forward Cole Knuble leads the roster with 30 points (9g, 21a) while graduate student forward Blake Biondi leads with 12 goals (22 total points). Junior goaltender Owen Say has seven wins in 20 games played, accumulating a .915 save percentage and a 2.95 goals-allowed on average.
The Badgers and Fighting Irish last met on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2, in Notre Dame, Indiana. ND won game one, 3-2, in overtime and Wisconsin claimed game two, 2-1, in regulation.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. and air on the Big Ten Network and the Fox Sports App. Audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA or on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
