Badgers set for upstate New York trip
October 26, 2016 | Men's Hockey
UW visits St. Lawrence and Clarkson for first time in over 25 years
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Wisconsin (2-2-0) makes its first-ever regular-season trip to two schools this weekend when it visits ECAC-member St. Lawrence (3-3-0) for a Friday contest at 6 p.m. CT at Appleton Arena in Canton, New York, and then travels to ECAC-member Clarkson (3-2-1) for a Saturday tilt at 6:30 p.m. at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, New York.
The Badgers' only visits to either school have come during NCAA tournaments, including most recently 1989 in Canton and 1991 in Potsdam.
Wisconsin, who will play three games in the state of New York this season, last played a game in the state on March 27, 2004 in the NCAA East Regional Final against Maine. UW dropped the overtime game, 2-1, in Albany.
| Game 5 | Wisconsin vs. St. Lawrence | |
| Date | Friday, Oct. 28 | 6 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Canton, N.Y. | Appleton Arena (3,200) |
| Watch | SaintsAthletics.com |
| Listen | Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
SERIES NOTES
This will be the first regular-season trip to Canton for Wisconsin. They have played at the Saints four times in NCAA tournament play
Wisconsin leads 11-2-1 in the all-time series, including 3-1-0 at Appleton Arena.
The last three games the teams have played have gone to overtime, with each team earning a win, tie and a loss. None of the previous 11 matchups went to extra time.
The team's have met four times in the NCAA tournament. The Badgers took the first meeting in 1983 by winning the two-game, total goals aggregate series, 13-3. The Saints got revenge in the 1988 tournament by winning 10-4 on total goals over two games. The two teams would meet the next year, with Wisconsin winning the best-of-three series two games to none. The last post-season meeting between UW and St. Lawrence came in 1992, when the Badgers defeated the Saints, 5-2, in a single-elimination game held in Providence, Rhode Island.
WISCONSIN-ST. LAWRENCE CONNECTIONS
St. Lawrence head coach, Mark Morris, has a daughter, Emily, who played for the Wisconsin women's hockey team from 2004-08 and was part of the 2006 and 2007 national championship teams.
Morris was a coach at Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York from 2004-06, the same high school that Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato attended.
Badgers freshman JD Greenway was born and raised in Canton, New York.
UW defensemen Peter Tischke and Tim Davison played alongside St. Lawrence seniors Woody Hudson and Drew Smolcynski with the Chicago Steel of the USHL during the 2012–13 season.
UW junior Jake Linhart played with St. Lawrence's Ryan Lough and Matt Purmal with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL during the 2013-14 season. Linhart also played with Saints sophomore R.J. Gicewicz for two seasons on the Gamblers from 2012-14.
Patrick Sexton's father, Randy, played at St. Lawrence.
LAST MEETING
Wisconsin 1, St. Lawrence 2 (OT)
Oct. 8, 2005
Junior goalie Brian Elliott made what was then a career-best 32 saves, but it was not enough as No. 10 Wisconsin fell to St. Lawrence 2-1 in overtime at the Kohl Center.
Sophomore Joe Pavelski notched the only goal for the Badgers, a short-handed conversion halfway through the second period.
St. Lawrence tied the game with exactly 10 minutes left to play in regulation. Drew Bagnall took a shot from the left point which Brock McBride tipped in for his second goal of the weekend. The power-play goal came after UW winger Robbie Earl was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for checking from behind.
The Saints found the game-winner 10 seconds into overtime when Kyle Rank picked up an errant pass on the UW blue line and beat Elliott with a quick shot from the right side for an unassisted, short-handed goal.
The two teams split the opening series of the 2005–06 season, with Wisconsin winning 3-2 in overtime the night before.
BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSIN BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 2-2-0 (1st Year)
Overall: 2-2-0 (1st Year)
ST. LAWRENCE SAINTS
Head Coach: Mark Morris
Record at SLU: 3-3-0 (1st Year)
Overall: 309-159-42 (14th Year)
| Game 6 | Wisconsin vs. Clarkson | |
| Date | Saturday, Oct. 29 | 6:30 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Potsdam, N.Y. | Cheel Arena (3,000) |
| Watch | Clarksonathletics.tv |
| Listen | Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
SERIES NOTES
Wisconsin won the first four out of five matchups between the two teams, going 4-0-1 in those games. However, Clarkson went on to win three out of the next four meetings, going 3-0-1.
The teams have for four games in the NCAA tournament. The first taking place in the 1981 tournament with Wisconsin winning 9-8 on total goals over the two-game aggregate series. The second meeting came in the 1991 version of the tournament, when Clarkson won the two-game series two games to none.
The last Wisconsin coach to defeat Clarkson was Bob Johnson on March 20, 1981. Johnson posted a 4-0-2 record against the Golden Knights while Jeff Sauer was 0-2-0 against Clarkson and Mike Eaves was 0-1-0.
WISCONSIN-CLARKSON CONNECTIONS
UW defender Patrick Sexton and Clarkson players James de Haas and Nic Pierog played together during the 2013–14 sesason when they were on the Penicton Vees of the BCHL.
Sexton's brother Ben played at Clarkson.
Wisconsin forwards Jarod Zirbel and Will Johnson and Clarkson forward Haralds Egle played together for the Madison Capitols in the USHL during the 2014-15 season. Egle also played with Badger forward Cullen Hurley during the 2012-13 season while they were on the Muskegon Lumberjacks as well as playing with freshman forward Max Zimmer last season with the Chicago Steel.
Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato went to high school at the Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, which is about 70 miles from Potsdam.
LAST MEETING
Wisconsin 2, Clarkson 6
Dec. 29, 2006
Clarkson defeated the Badgers in the semifinal of the 18th annual Badger Hockey Showdown.
Clarkson struck first as Nick Dodge scored his first of three goals at the 10:22 mark of the first period. UW's Jake Dowell notched his team leading 12th goal of the season at the 8:31 mark of the second period on a Badger power play tying the game 1-1.
Dodge answered with his second goal 21 seconds later to start Clarkson's five goal run putting the Badgers out of reach. The Golden Knights scored three goals in the second frame, and two more in the third.
Clarkson went on to win the Badger Hockey Showdown, defeating Lake Superior State 3-2. Wisconsin defeated Providence 5-0 in the third-place game.
BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSIN BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 2-2-0 (1st Year)
Overall: 2-2-0 (1st Year)
CLARKSON GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Head Coach: Casey Jones
Record at CU: 81-91-26 (6th Year)
Overall: 81-91-26 (6th Year)
U.S. UNDER-18 TEAM REVIEW
The Badgers skated to a 4-3 victory over the U.S. Under-18 Team last Friday in the team's second exhibition contest of the season.
Sophomore forward Dan Labosky tallied a power-play goal, the game's first goal, and two assists to lead the Badgers with three points.
Both Labosky and freshman forward Max Zimmer scored their first goals in a Wisconsin jersey, though neither officially counts since the game was an exhibition contest.
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
Including its two exhibition games, Wisconsin has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its six games this season. Officially, the Badgers are 26.7 percent on the power play this season (8-for-30), which leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in the nation. Including the exhibition contests, the Badgers are 32.5 percent on the power play (13-for-40).
The Badgers have killed off 14 consecutive penalties spanning their last three regular-season games. That number rises to 21 when including last Friday's exhibition contest against the U.S. Under-18 Team. UW is at 91.3 percent (21-for-23) on the penalty kill this season.
Junior forward Cameron Hughes is the lone Badger this season to record at least one point in all four games. He actually has a point in all six of UW's contests when including the two exhibition games. Hughes has a goal and four points on the season.
Freshman forward Trent Frederic record four points against Boston College in UW's most recent regular-season game marked the first for the Badgers since Luke Kunin had a goal and three assists on Jan. 9, 2016 against Ohio State.
ON THE ROAD
Wisconsin's games this weekend at St. Lawrence and at Clarkson mark the first two true road games of the season for the Badgers. UW opened "on the road" in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for its first weekend of action against Northern Michigan. The games were officially neutral-site contests hosted by NMU.
The games mark the latest road openers in a season since the 2007–08 campaign when UW first played on the road on Nov. 16 at Colorado College. UW opened that season with neutral-site games against Notre Dame and Ohio State in Dayton, Ohio.
The Badgers have dropped three consecutive road openers, last winning a 2-0 game at Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 26, 2012. The Badgers lost at Boston College last season, at Alaska Anchorage during the 2014–15 season, and at Boston College in 2013–14.
UW is 25-25-3 all-time in road openers.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Wisconsin's special teams have been key to its goal scoring with have of its 16 goals scored coming on the power play.
UW's eight power-play goals in four games are more than a third of last season's total of 22 power-play markers.
UW is plus-4 on special teams with eight power-play goals, two short-handed goals allowed and two-power-play goals allowed.
Freshman Trent Frederic and sophomore Will Johnson share the team lead with two power-play goals each.
The Badgers combined to go 5-for-10 on the power play in their two exhibition games, which doesn't count in their official stats. Already 8-for-30 on the power play (26.7 percent), the Badgers are 13-for-40 on the power play (32.5 percent) when including exhibition games.
UW's penalty kill has been just as effective, going 21-for-23 (91.3 percent) on the kill in four games. The kill is also a perfect 14-for-14 on the kill in exhibition contests. Combined, UW's penalty kill is at 94.6 percent (25-for-37) when exhibition games are included.
CAPTAINS
Sophomore forward Luke Kunin was named team captain, the second sophomore captain in school history. Mike Eaves was a sophomore captain for the 1975–76 season.
Joining sophomore forward Luke Kunin as alternate captains are senior forward Grant Besse and junior forward Cameron Hughes. Besse served as alternate captain last season, while Hughes filled in at that capacity for a handful of games last year.
BESSE TO 100
Should senior forward Grant Besse match his point total of 33 from last season, he would become the 74th skater in UW history to reach 100 career points, and would become the first since Tyler Barnes (2010–14) reached the mark with 101 points for his career. He actually needs 31 to reach 100.
Besse now boasts 32 goals, 42 assists and 73 points in 107 games played.
Besse's 107 games played makes him one of just two Badgers who have played 100 career college games, joining fellow senior forward Jedd Soleway, who has played 103 games.
CAPTAIN KUNIN
Luke Kunin ended the 2015–16 season with points in a career-best seven straight games, tallying six goals and nine points during the active streak. He has points in the first two games of this season with a goal and an assist. That give Kunin a nine-game point streak dating back to last year. He has seven goals and 11 points in that stretch.
Kunin scored the first goal of the game last Saturday to give UW a 1-0 lead against Northern Michigan. The goal was his team-leading fourth game-opening goal of his career.
Luke Kunin finished the 2015–16 season as the Badgers leading goal scorer with 19 goals, the first UW rookie since Dany Heatley scored 28 goals in 1999–2000 to lead the Badgers in goals. The 19 goals are also the most for a UW freshman since Heatley's 28.
Kunin's 32 points made him the first UW rookie to reach 30 points since Nic Kerdiles tallied 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games during the 2012–13 season. The 32 points were good for second among Big Ten freshmen, while his 0.94 points per game ranked seventh nationally among freshmen.
Kunin finished one back of UW's point lead, narrowly missing becoming the first UW rookie to pace the Badgers in scoring since Kyle Turris, who had 35 points during the 2007–08 season.
He scored four goals in the last minute of a period last season to rank second in the country, while his seven points in the last minute were also second. He had nine goals and 14 points in the first and last minute of periods, which both led the country.
Kunin finished conference play as UW's leader with 13 goals and 21 points in Big Ten play. His 13 goals ranked fourth among all Big Ten skaters, while his 21 points shared eighth. Both ranked second among Big Ten freshmen.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Wisconsin returns 96.8 percent of its goals (90 of 93 goals), 80.4 percent of its assists (135 of 168 assists) and 86.2 percent of its points (225 of 261 points). The Badgers also return 100 percent of their power-play goals (22) from last season.
NEW COACHING STAFF
Tony Granato returns to Wisconsin after 13 years as a head and assistant coach in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. That followed a 13-year NHL playing career that included stops with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks.
Don Granato arrives in Madison after nearly five seasons as head coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP) helping develop the nation's best young hockey players. He also spent one season as an assistant coach with the NHL's St. Louis Blues, in addition to over 10 years as a head coach in junior and minor-league hockey.
Osiecki returns to Madison, where he previously spent six seasons (2004–10) as an assistant coach. While at UW, he helped the Badgers win the 2006 NCAA Championship, as well as a runner-up spot in the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four. Since his time at UW, Osiecki spent time as the head coach at Ohio State, as well as an assistant coach with the AHL's Rockford Ice Hogs, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.
All three coaches went to school and played hockey for Wisconsin.
20/20 VISION
Wisconsin welcomes five skaters back from last year who had 20 points, including Grant Besse (33), Luke Kunin (32), Seamus Malone (26), Cameron Hughes (22) and Ryan Wagner (22). This marks the first time UW returns five 20-point scores since the 2013–14 team welcomed six 20-point scorers back. That year, Michael Mersch (36), Nic Kerdiles (33), Mark Zengerle (32), Tyler Barnes (30), Joseph LaBate (23) and Jake McCabe (21) each returned to the Badgers. Prior to 2013–14, UW had last returned at least five 20-point scorers for a season when seven began the 2009–10 campaign.
FEELING A DRAFT
Wisconsin begins the season with eight NHL draft picks on its roster, including two first-round picks in Luke Kunin and Trent Frederic, third-round pick JD Greenway, fourth-round pick Max Zimmer, fifth-round selection Grant Besse, sixth-round choice Cameron Hughes and seventh-round picks Jedd Soleway and Matt Ustaski.
UW's top four picks were all chosen in the 2016 draft.
This year marks the first time since the 2010–11 season that UW boasts a first-round draft pick on its roster (Jake Gardiner), and the first team since the 2009–10 squad to boast more than one first-round pick (Gardiner, Ryan McDonagh, Brendan Smith).
Forwards Kunin and Frederic give UW its first first-round draft picks at the forward position since Kyle Turris played for UW during the 2007–08 season.
Kunin and Frederic give Wisconsin two first-round draft picks on the same team at forward for the first time in school history.
CURRENT UW DRAFT PICKS
| NAME | TEAM | YEAR | RD/PICK |
| Luke Kunin | Minnesota | 2016 | 1/15 |
| Trent Frederic | Boston | 2016 | 1/29 |
| JD Greenway | Toronto | 2016 | 3/72 |
| Max Zimmer | Carolina | 2016 | 4/104 |
| Grant Besse | Anaheim | 2013 | 5/147 |
| Cameron Hughes | Boston | 2015 | 6/165 |
| Jedd Soleway | Arizona | 2013 | 7/193 |
| Matt Ustaski | Winnipeg | 2014 | 7/192 |
LINHART AND SOUL
Junior defenseman Jake Linhart's led UW rear guards and ranked fourth on the team last season with eight goals. Linhart's goal total was tied for second among Big Ten defensemen behind Michigan's early-departure Zach Werenski, who finished with 11. That means Linhart shares the title the "Big Ten's top goal-scoring defenseman returning."
Linhart also led UW defensemen with 18 points, which was tied for ninth among Big Ten blue liners.
GOOD TO HAVE GOAL(IES)
Sophomore Matt Jurusik returns to the Badgers as their only experienced netminder after playing in 33 games last season as a freshmen. Jurusik went 8-16-7 with a 3.46 goals-against average, .892 save percentage and one shutout.
Jurusik will be pushed this season by a pair of freshmen in Jack Berry and Johan Blomquist. who played last season in New Jersey and Connecticut, respectively.
GETTING YOUNGER
While Wisconsin boasted one of the youngest rosters in the country last season with regards to age, they get even younger this year. The team average 20 years, 10 months at the start of October last season. This year, the team averages 20 years, 5 months.
WHERE'S HOME?
Wisconsin's two new goaltenders, Jack Berry and Johan Blomquist, hail from places that have been rare at Wisconsin of late.
Berry comes from Holly, Michigan, The Badgers first player from Michigan since Jon Krall (2000–04), who came from Temperence, Michigan.
Blomquist, from Stockholm, Sweden, arrives as just the second Swede to play for Wisconsin. He joins Jan-Ake Danielson (1981–84), who came from Insjon, Sweden.
SEASONS STREAK
In the modern era of Wisconsin hockey (since 1963), the Badgers have never posted three consecutive losing seasons. UW had losing seasons the last two years, marking the third time that has happened in the modern era.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin returns home for its second series of the season against Northern Michigan. The Badgers take on Wildcats on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5, at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center. The teams split a pair of one-goal games at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to open the season on Oct. 7 and 8, with NMU winning 3-2 in the first game and the Badgers taking a 6-5 victory the next night.
