SEASON RESUMES WITH BIG TEN HOME-OPENING WEEKEND AT KOHL CENTER
Wisconsin (8-7-1, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten) returns to action on Friday and Saturday when Michigan State (4-11-1, 0-2-0-0 Big Ten) visits. Friday's game begins at 8 p.m., while Saturday is a 7 p.m. start.

Both games this weekend air on BTN.

SERIES NOTES
The teams meet for the 103rd and 104th times.

UW has gone 1-3-0 against Michigan State in each of the last two seasons for a 2-6-0 two-year mark. 

In the prior 10 meetings, UW was 8-1-1 against the Spartans

The Badgers are 1-3-0 against MSU at the Kohl Center over the last two seasons. 

WISCONSIN-MICHIGAN STATE CONNECTIONS
UW freshmen JD Greenway and Trent Frederic played in the USNTDP with Michigan State freshman Patrick Khodorenko.

UW junior Ryan Wagner played in the USNTDP with MSU's Dylan Pavelek and Ed Minney.

MSU sophomore Mason Appleton, a Winnipeg draft choice, hails from Green Bay. 

LAST MEETING
Michigan State 3, Wisconsin 1
Feb. 20, 2016

Wisconsin fought back from a third-period deficit for the second straight night, but Michigan State scored late in regulation to slip past the Badgers, 3-1, at the Kohl Center.

After seven combined goals in the series opener on Friday night, the two teams had just one total goal to show for the first two periods on Saturday night, as MSU carried a 1-0 lead to the second intermission.

Wisconsin turned up the pressure in the final period, outshooting the Spartans by seven in the frame, and eventually tying the game at the 7:06 mark of the stanza on a goal by Seamus Malone.

Michigan State translated the momentum from killing off a 5-on-3 penalty and scored the game-winning goal with under two minutes to play in regulation. It added an empty-net tally to put it away.

The night before, UW's Luke Kunin scored first, but MSU went up 3-1 by early in the second period. Will Johnson scored on the power play in the second, then Cameron Hughes tallied early in the third period to tie the game, but MSU scored at 14:22 to break a 3-3 tie for a 4-3 victory. 

BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSIN BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 8-7-1 (1st Year)
Overall: 8-7-1 (1st Year)

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
Head Coach: Tom Anastos
Record at MSU: 75-109-21 (6th Year)
Overall: 75-109-21 (6th Year)

KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
Senior Grant Besse leads the Badgers with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 15 games played. That puts him on a pace to surpass 40 points for the season. Just one Badger (Mark Zengerle in 2013–14) has reached the mark since the start of the 2012–13 campaign.

The Badgers have scored 55 goals in 16 games for a 3.44 goals-per-game average. That ranks 11th in the country. The last time UW averaged more goals per game for a season was in 2009–10 when the team scored 3.98 goals per contest.

The Badgers have trailed at some point in each of their last seven games, going 2-4-1 during that stretch. They have scored first in two of those seven contests.

UW sits two victories away from 200 all-time at the Kohl Center. 

Wisconsin's 7-4 victory over Michigan on Dec. 9 marked its first win after trailing by two goals since the 2014 Big Ten Tournament championship game against Ohio State. In that contest, UW trailed 4-2 in the third period, but recovered for a 5-4 overtime victory. In the most recent game against Michigan, the Badgers fell behind 2-0 in the first period.

Six Badgers have scored their first career goals this season, including three freshmen (Frederic, Zimmer, Greenway), a sophomore (Tischke), junior (Hurley) and senior (Cavallini). Frederic scored in his second game, Greenway his fourth, Hurley in his fifth, Zimmer in his ninth, Tischke in his 40th and Cavallini in his 64th career contest.

Wisconsin had their four-game streak with at least 40 shots on goal snapped in its most recent outing at Michigan. UW outshoot the Wolverines in that game on Dec. 10, 35-19. Prior to that, UW fired 42, 50, 44 and 41 shots on goal against Omaha, Colorado College, Denver and Michigan, respectively. That four-game streak marked the first such streek since the first four games of the 2004–05 season (Oct. 15-23, 2004). The Badgers opened that season with 46 and 43 shots against Mercyhurst on Oct. 15 and 16, then 42 and 46 shots against Michigan Tech on Oct. 22 and 23.

The Badgers have four games with at least 40 shots. Only once in the prior six seasons has UW had more than four games with at least 40 shots (six in 2013–14).

Wisconsin's +10.94 shots per game rank second in the country. The Badgers are averaging 36.00 shots per game, which ranks second in the nation, and are allowing 25.06 shots per contest, which is the nation's sixth lowest total.

Wisconsin is nearly perfect this season after losing a game. The Badgers sit 5-0-1 this season after a loss. UW's most recent game on Dec. 10 was a 4-1 loss at Michigan.

Wisconsin's 23 power-play goals through 16 games (23-for-100) are already more than the team's season totals in three of the last four years.  UW had 22 in 2015–16, 15 in 2014–15 and 18 in 2012–13 UW had 25 conversions in 2013–14.

Wisconsin scored five goals in the second period of its 7-4 win at Michigan on Dec. 9. That marked the program's first five-goal period since it scored five in the third period on March 13, 2009 against Minnesota State in a 7-1 victory.

Senior forward Grant Besse had goals in four consecutive games for a career-long goal-scoring streak, but had the streak snapped on Dec. 9 at Michigan. He scored a goal in the following game on Dec. 10, UW's most recent contest

Besse continues with a six-game point-scoring streak. He has five goals and eight points over his last six games played. The six-game streak is tied for the longest of the season for the Badgers (Malone, Davison). Besse's career-long point-scoring streak is eight games (Oct. 17-Nov. 20, 2015).

Sophomore forward Matthew Freytag scored his first goal of the season when he tallied into an empty net near the end of UW's 7-4 triumph at Michigan on Dec. 9. Freytag had gone 12 games since his last goal, which came March 5 against Penn State.

Wisconsin's seven goals at Michigan on Dec. 9 marked its first seven-goal game since a 7-1 victory over Penn State on Dec. 6, 2014. It also marked the highest goal total for a road game since a 7-3 win on Nov. 27, 2009 at Michigan State.

Wisconsin's leading goal scorer with 11 tallies, sophomore forward Luke Kunin has five goals in the last five games, including a pair of two-goal games. Kunin is the captain for Team USA at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships. 

Kunin led the Badgers last season with 19 goals as a freshman. 

MICHIGAN REVIEW
The Badgers split at Michigan in their last action on Dec. 9-10 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. UW overcame a 2-0 deficit for a 7-4 victory in the first contest, but failed to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the second contest, falling 4-1.

In the 7-4 win, five different Badgers posted multi-point efforts with Luke Kunin (2 goals), Will Johnson (2 goals), Ryan Wagner (3 assists), Trent Frederic (1 goal, 1 assist) and Seamus Malone (2 assists)

The victory gave UW its first win to open a Big Ten season in the short history of the conference (fourth season).

Junior forward Ryan Wagner, who had four goals and seven points in four games against Michigan last season, collected three assists against the Wolverines on Dec. 9 to match his single-game career high of three points (2 goals, 1 assist) set on Dec. 5, 2015 at Michigan. He has four goals, seven assists and 11 points in his last six games against the Wolverines.

In the 4-1 loss, Grant Besse scored a power-play goal for UW's lone tally. The goal extended his point streak to six contests.

UW trailed 2-1 late in the third period, before Michigan tallied twice into a Wiscosnin empty net for the 4-1 final.  

Freshman goaltender Jack Berry played both games for UW, making 17 saves on 21 shots in the win and then stopping 15 of 17 shots in the loss. 

JOHNSON CONTROLS
Sophomore Will Johnson posted his first career two-goal game on Dec. 9 in UW's most recent series at Michigan.

His fourth and fifth goals of the season included his first career game-winning tally.

Johnson's five goals have him tied for fourth on the team in goals. 

Johnson is one goal and two points off his freshman year totals.

NON-CONFERENCE
The Badgers finished non-conference play 7-6-1 against non-conference foes. The seven non-conference victories matched the program's combined non-conference win total for the last two seasons. The Badgers were 7-13-6 in non-conference play over the last two seasons.

FAMOUS SEAMUS
Sophomore forward Seamus Malone posted his fourth multi-point game of the season on Dec. 9 at Michigan. That is tied for third on the team.

Malone ranks third on the Badgers with 15 points on six goals and nine assists.

The undrafted forward has 41 points through his first 51 career games.

STEADY FREDDY
Freshman forward Trent Frederic made his return to the lineup on Dec. 9 after missing six games due to an injury sustained during practice. He returned with a bang, scoring UW's first goal and adding an assist in UW's 7-4 victory.

The Badgers are 6-4-0 with Frederic in the lineup and 2-3-1 without him.

Chosen 29th overall by the Boston Bruins in hte 2016 NHL Draft, Frederic has five goals and 12 points in just 10 games this season, making him one of three Badgers averaging a point per game.

The Badgers average 3.8 goals per game with Frederic in the lineup, and 2.83 goals per game without him.

Frederic shares the team lead with four power-play goals and two game-winning markers. He also owns UW's lone short-handed score of the season.

He has four multi-point games in his first 10 career contests.

His 0.40 power-play goals per game are tied for fourth in the country among all skaters.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Senior forward Grant Besse ranks fourth in the Big Ten with a 1.31 points-per-game scoring average. Penn State freshman Denis Smirnov leads the Big Ten at 1.80 points per game. Besse is sixth in league scoring with 19 points.

Sophomore forward Luke Kunin shares fourth in the league with 11 goals in 16 games, while Besse's eight tallies have him tied for 10th and Malone's six goals are tied for 15th.

Junior defenseman Tim Davison's 11 assists share 11th in the Big Ten among all skaters with Besse and Cameron Hughes, and is fourth among league blue liners.

Besse's nine power-play points are tied for second in Big Ten power-play scoring, while Kunin's and Seamus Malone's eight power-play points are tied for fifth. Frederic's seven power-play points are tied for 10th. 

Frederic, Besse, and Kunin are tied for fourth in the Big Ten with four power-play goals, two off the leaders. Johnson is tied for ninth with three power-play markers.

Frederic and Besse share fifth in the Big Ten with two game-winning tallies.

Junior Tim Davison's 11 points and Jake Linhart's nine points rank fifth and seventh, respectively among Big Ten defensemen.  

Freshman forward Trent Frederic's 12 points have him tied for sixth among Big Ten freshmen in scoring. His 1.20 points per game rank third among rookies.

Freshman goaltender Jack Berry's 2.61 goals-against average has him fourth in the Big Ten.

TOP 12 SPECIAL TEAMS
UW ranks ninth in the country with the man advantage at 23.0 percent (23-for-100).

The Badgers have scored 23 of their 55 goals while on the power play.

Wisconsin's penalty kill ranks 12th in the nation at 86.4 percent (70-for-81).

UW is one of just three schools to boast top-12 programs in both power play and penalty Kill (Penn State, Northeastern). 

Wisconsin is the least penalized team in the Big Ten with an average of 11.5 penalty minutes per game, with just nine teams in the country less penalized.

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK
Freshman goaltender Jack Berry started his Badger career with 144 minutes, 17 seconds of shutout hockey before finally allowing a goal to Merrimack last Friday. That marks the longest shutout streak to start a UW career, more than double Bernd Brückler's 67:59 of shutout hockey to start his career in 2001–02, which is the second longest streak in school history.

Berry's 22-save shutout in UW's game on Nov. 5 against Northern Michigan marked the fourth time a Badger goalie accomplished the feat in his first collegiate start. In addition to Bernd Brückler's 25-save shutout on Oct. 20, 2001 in a 5-0 win over Wayne State in his first start, Jim Carey posted a 22-save shutout on Nov. 1, 1992 in an 11-0 win over Northern Michigan. Wayne Thomas also began his career with a 22-save shutout on Nov. 16, 1968 in an 11-0 win over Pennsylvania.

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 needs 12 more points to 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 began the season needing 31 to reach 100.

With 19 points through 15 games played, Besse currently boasts 38 goals, 50 assists and 88 points in 118 games played.

Besse's 118 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 105 games. 

LINHART AND SOUL
Junior defenseman Jake Linhart's eight goals last year ranked fourth among Badgers and only trailed tied Michigan's early-departure Zach Werenski among Big Ten defensemen, 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.

BIG TEN PLAY
The Big Ten boasts the nation's second-best non-conference record at 44-27-10 (.605 win percentage). The NCHC leads with a 43-21-13 mark (.643). Five non-conference games remain for Big Ten teams.

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 streak. He had points in the first two games of this season with a goal and an assist, before going pointless against BC. That gave Kunin a nine-game point streak dating back to last year. He had seven goals and 11 points in that stretch.  

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.

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.

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.

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    

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.

UP NEXT
After going 26 days between games before this weekend's series, the Badgers have off again next weekend, before Minnesota visits for a Jan. 20-21 series at the Kohl Center. The Friday game begins at 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest is a 5 p.m. start.