HOMESTAND ENDS WITH MERCYHURST
No. 9/10 Wisconsin (8-5-2, 3-2-1 Big Ten) plays a rare Saturday-Sunday series when Mercyhurst (4-4-2, 2-2-2 Atlantic Hockey) visits the Kohl Center this weekend. Saturday's game begins at 7 p.m., while Sunday's contest is a 5 p.m. start.
Wisconsin posted a victory and a tie last week against No. 17 Michigan at the Kohl Center. UW captured a 7-3 victory on Friday, before salvaging a 4-4 tie on Saturday in a see-saw affair. Michigan won a 2-0 shootout to earn an extra point in the Big Ten standings.
The Badgers are a perfect 4-0-0 all-time against Mercyhurst, having outscored the Lakers 23-6 in those meetings, with all four games taking place at the Kohl Center.
Saturday's game streams on BTN Plus at BTN2Go.com. Sunday's game will be televised by BTN and stream on the BTN2Go app and BTN2Go.com. Both games air on the radio on 1070 WTSO, the Badger Radio Network and on the iHeart radio app and web site.
Wisconsin and Mercyhurst last met exactly six years ago, with UW taking 5-2 an 7-2 victories on Nov. 25 and 26, 2011, at the Kohl Center.
SERIES NOTES
Mercyhurst
The teams meet for just the fifth and sixth times in history, with the previous four games taking place at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin has outscored the Lakers 23-6 total in the four meetings between the schools, an average of 5.75 goals to 1.5 goals.Â
Mercyhurst skated at Penn State on Nov. 3 and 4, splitting with the Nittany Lions. The Lakers won 7-4 the first night, before PSU responded with a 7-5 victory the second game.
LAST MEETINGS
Wisconsin 5, Mercyhurst 2
Nov. 26, 2011
Wisconsin fell behind just two minutes, six seconds into the contest, but led at the first break on goals by future NHLers Brendan Woods and Justin Schultz (power play).
After a scoreless second period, Eric Springer made it 3-1 at the 50-second mark of the third frame.Â
Mercyhurst cut the lead back to one at 3-2, but goals by Joseph LaBate and Tyler Barnes (power play) sealed the 5-2 victory.
Landon Peterson stopped 25 shots in goal for the Badgers in the game.Â
Schultz (1g, 2a) and Mark Zengerle (3 assists) had three-point nights.
Wisconsin 7, Mercyhurst 2
Nov. 25, 2011
Despite getting outshot 26-21, the Badgers romped to a 7-2 victory in a game heavily reliant on special teams.
Both Mercyhurst goals came on the power play, while five of UW's seven goals happened on special teams.
That special-teams action began in the first period when UW's Jefferson Dahl and Michael Mersch gave UW a 2-0 lead at the break with a pair of short-handed goals.
Defenseman Justin Schultz scored the eventual game-winning tally just 24 seconds into the second period, with the teams even, before Mercyhurst made it 3-1 before the second intermission.
Third-period power-play tallies by UW's Mark Zengerle, Mersch and Schultz, as well as an even-strength goal by Frankie Simonelli helped UW to a four-goal third period and a 7-2 victory.
Zengerle finished the night with a goal and four assists, while Schultz posted two goals and two assists and Mersch collected two goals and an assist.
Joel Rumpel stopped 21 shots in goal, before giving way to Mitch Thompson's lone career appearance. Thompson closed out the final 5:07 of the game and stopped all three shots faced.
BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSINÂ BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 28-20-3Â (2nd Year)
Overall: 28-20-3Â (2nd Year)
MERCYHURSTÂ LAKERS
Head Coach: Rick Gotkin
Record at MC: 529-391-86 (30th Year)
Overall: 529-391-86 (30th Year)
BY THE NUMBERS
13-0-0 -Â Wisconsin is 13-0-0 against Atlantic Hockey teams since the conference formed in June 2003. The Badgers are 4-0 against Mercyhurst, 3-0 against RIT, and 2-0 against Canisius, Quinnipiac and Robert Morris since the conference formed. Quinnipiac is no longer part of the league.
11 -Â Wisconsin's 11 goals in its two games last weekend against Michigan marked its season-high for a weekend this year, matching last year's high-water mark, also set against Michigan, Feb. 17-18, 2017, at the Kohl Center.
50 -Â Wisconsin blocked a total of 50 shots in its two games against Michigan, including a season-high 26 last Friday in its 7-3 victory. Frosh Jason Dhooghe led the team with five on Friday, while defenseman Peter Tischke paced the team with seven on Saturday.
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
Last Friday's season-high, seven-goal output included goals from seven different goal scorers. Thirteen different Badgers recorded points in the game.
UW's 4-4 tie last Saturday marked its first draw after trailing by two goals since Dec. 2, 2016, last season. UW trailed in that game, 3-1 in the first period, but battled back for a 3-3 overtime tie against Omaha at the Kohl Center. Last Saturday, UW trailed 2-0 in the first, and finished with a 4-4 deadlock.
UW scored the first goal 11 times in 15 tries this season. The Badgers are 8-2-1 in those contests. UW allowed the first goal last Saturday to Michigan, but ended up with a tie to earn its first positive result of the season when allowing the first marker. UW sits 0-3-1 when allowing the first goal.
The Badgers have outscored opponents 53-40 this season, including 18-10 in the first period and 20-13 in the second period. They have been edged 16-15 in third periods and 1-0 in overtimes.
Freshman defenseman Josh Ess scored his first career goal just 33 seconds into last Saturday's contest, and the Badgers never looked back in what was a 7-3 victory.
Ess became the sixth Badgers to scored his first career goal this season, all freshmen.Â
In addition to Ess scoring his first career goal Friday, junior forward Jarod Zirbel tallied for the first time this season, scoring into an empty net. The Green Bay native now has three goals in 51 career games.Â
Zirbel added an assist in Friday's game to give him his first career two-point night.
Sophomore Trent Frederic ended a four-game point-scoring drought with a goal and an assist last Friday.Â
Combined with an assist on Saturday, Frederic shares the team lead with 13 points, and shares second with six goals.
Senior forward Ryan Wagner finished the weekend with a goal and an assist to keep pace for team scoring lead at 13 points.
Wagner leads the Badgers with seven goals in 14 games. His career high is 10 set his sophomore season.
Frosh forward Linus Weissbach posted a pair of two-point games over the weekend, setting up two goals last Friday, then scoring consecutive goals in the second period last Saturday. He now has a pair of multi-goal games this season, as he scored two goals in his collegiate debut on Oct. 1 against Michigan Tech.
UW's three-goal third period last Friday was its third three-goal period of the season.Â
Senior goaltender Kyle Hayton posted games of 34 and 33 saves last weekend in a win and a tie against Michigan. The 77 total saves are the most in a weekend he's had at Wisconsin.
Hayton has started six consecutive games for the Badgers and seen action in UW's last eight contests.
After not playing in three games, sophomore forward Max Zimmer had a productive return to the lineup last Friday with his second goal of the season. He did not play last Saturday. He has played in nine of UW's 15 games this season.
After posting a season-high 11 goals last weekend in its series with Michigan, the Badgers now rank ninth in the nation with a 3.53 goals per game scoring average, which ranks third in the Big Ten behind Michigan (3.83) and Penn State (3.71).
The Badger defense shares 22nd in the nation with fellow Big Ten-member Michigan State at 2.67 goals against per game. That is tied for fourth among Big Ten schools.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Badgers posted a 7-3 victory and a 4-4 tie last weekend at home against Michigan. The Wolverines won a 2-0 shootout after the tie to grab an extra point in the Big Ten standings.
On Friday, freshman defenseman Josh Ess scored his first career goal, just 33 seconds into the contest, and UW never looked back.
Seven different Badgers scored in the game, including Ess, Max Zimmer, Trent Frederic, Cameron Hughes, Jason Ford, Jarod Zirbel and Tarek Baker.Â
UW led 2-0 after one and 4-2 after two periods.
Both teams scored once on the  power play, with UW 1-for-4 and Michigan 1-for-5.
Goaltender Kyle Hayton made 34 saves in the victory.
Saturday, UW fell behind 2-0, took a 3-2 lead, fell behind 4-3, then tied the game with 1:10 left in regulation while skating with its goaltender pulled for an extra attacker to end up in a 4-4 tie.
Senior forward Ryan Wagner tallied a power-play goal with 3.8 seconds remaining in the first period to cut Michigan's lead to 2-1.
Freshman forward Linus Weissbach accounted for all the scoring in the second period, tallying twice to give UW a 3-2 lead.
Michigan scored twice in the third, at 2:59 and 12:03, to recapture the lead.
Senior captain Cameron Hughes scored at 18:50 after UW pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker to draw even.
After a scoreless overtime period, Michigan won the shootout after it scored on its first two attempts, while the Badgers failed on their first two tries.
Hayton had his second consecutive 30+ save performance with 33 saves in the tie.Â
SPECIAL TEAMS
UW is second nationally with its 24.6 percent power play (14-for-57), which is tops in the Big Ten.Â
Wisconsin's penalty kill is 48-for-59 (.814) on the season, ranking fifth in the Big Ten and sharing 29th nationally.
Wisconsin was +15 on special teams last season, but -9 at even strength. UW is +11 at even strength this year, and +2 on special teams.
CALL ON KALYNUK
Freshman defender Wyatt Kalynuk had a four-point weekend against Michigan, including a career-high three assists in the 4-4 tie on Saturday.
After going six games without a point to start his college career, Kalynuk exploded to score 11 point in the last nine games. The Virden, Manitoba native leads the team with 10 assists.
His 31 blocks, which rank second among the Badgers, lead all Big Ten frosh and rank second among the nation's freshmen.
LINUS IN THE LINEUP
Freshman Linus Weissbach broke a five-game goal-scoring drought against Michigan, netting two goals in one period on Saturday. He totaled four points on the weekend, adding two assists in Friday's 7-3 win.
Weissbach recorded his second two-goal effort, as the rookie potted two goals in his debut against Michigan Tech on Oct. 1.
With five goals and five assists, Weissbach ranks second among team rookies in points and goals. He leads the Badger freshmen with two power-play goals.
OF PENALTY SHOTS
Freshman forward Tarek Baker's successful penalty shot against Ohio State on Oct. 6 marked the fourth penalty shot goal in the last five seasons for the Badgers. Freshman forward Sean Dhooghe made it five in five seasons with his penalty-shot goal on Nov. 4 against North Dakota. Prior to the last five years, UW went 16 seasons without a successful penalty shot.Â
Both Baker's and Sean Dhooghe's penalty shot goals marked their first career goals as a Badger. That makes them the first UW skaters since at least the 1989–90 season to score their first goal on a penalty shot.
DOUBLE DHOOGHE
When Sean and Jason Dhooghe each scored their first career goals in the same game on Nov. 4 against North Dakota, they became the first brothers in UW history to accomplish the feat. They also became the sixth brother combination to score goals in the same game, including most recently current UW associate head coach Mark Strobel, and his twin brother, Mike, who both scored on Nov. 19, 1993 against Colorado College. They were the second Badger twin brothers to both score in the same game.
First OccurrenceÂ
| Brothers |
Date |
Opponent |
| Sean/Jason Dhooghe |
11/4/2017 |
North Dakota |
| Mark/Mike Strobel (twins) |
11/19/1993 |
Colo. College |
| Jim/John Johanson |
11/26/1982 |
Air Force |
| Scott/Todd Lecy |
11/2/1979 |
Michigan State |
| Mark/Peter Johnson |
11/10/1978 |
Michigan |
| Murray/Brad Johnson (twins) |
1/2/1976 |
Denver |
| Dave/Bob Lundeen |
11/17/1973 |
Notre Dame |
|
HEY, HAYTON
Goaltender Kyle Hayton joins the Badgers as a graduate transfer from St. Lawrence University, where he was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Year and a second-team All-American in 2016-17.Â
Hayton, a native of Denver, was one of 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award. He started 35 of the Saints' 37 contests while posting a .929 save percentage and five shutouts.
Hayton finished his time at SLU as the leader in career wins, appearances, saves, shutouts and goals-against average in just three seasons of play.
Had Hayton played his first three years at Wisconsin, he would currently rank in the top-five on the all-time UW list for career save percentage (.934, first), shutouts (13, second), wins (58, fourth) and saves (3,206, fifth).
Hayton entered the season with numbers that rank among the best in the country among the nation's goaltenders. His 3,079 saves were No. 1, as was his .934 save percentage. He ranked second with 54 victories in goal, while his 13 shutouts also ranked second.Â
B1G ADDITION
Notre Dame is now the seventh member of the Big Ten for hockey after spending the last four seasons as a member of Hockey East. The Fighting Irish were CCHA members prior to that.
UND reached the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four semifinals, before eventual national champion Denver eliminated the Fighting Irish.
UND visits the Kohl Center for a Dec. 8-9 series, while UW visits South Bend, Indiana, for a series on Jan. 19-20.
The Big Ten moves to a three-week playoff with best-of-three series on campus sites, then a semifinal game and championship game at campus sites of the higher seed. The top seed will get a first-round bye.
olympic opportunity
Badgers' head coach Tony Granato was named head coach of the United State's men's hockey team competing in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
As a player, Granato represented Team USA in the 1988 Winter Games. He also served as an assistant coach for the Americans at the 2014 Olympics.
Joining Granato on the bench as an assistant coach will be former UW defenseman Chris Chelios, as well as general manager for Team USA Jim Johannson, who played with Granato at Wisconsin and on the 1988 Olympic team.
Granato joins Peter Laviolette, John Garrison, Jack Riley and Herb Brooks on a short list of coaches who have played in the Olympics for Team USA and later coached the American squad in the Games.
Granato joins Bob Johnson, who guided the Americans in 1976, as Wisconsin men's coaches who have been tabbed to coach Team USA.
ALL-LEAGUE RETURNS
The Badgers welcome the return of a pair of 2017 Second-Team All-Big Ten skaters in senior defenseman Jake Linhart and sophomore forward Trent Frederic, as well as a pair of honorable mention All-Big Ten players in junior defenseman Peter Tischke and sophomore goaltender Jack Berry. Graduate transfer goaltender Kyle Hayton joins the Badgers after being named the 2017 ECAC Goaltender of the Year.
OLYMPIC PRECURSOR?
A pair of former 2006 Wisconsin NCAA champions in forward Robbie Earl and defenseman Tom Gilbert were named to Team USA for the Deutschland Cup, which takes place Nov. 10-12 in Germany. The event will be used for evaluation for the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team.
UW head coach Tony Granato will serve as Team USA's Deutschland Cup head coach. He is the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team head coach.
Rene Bourque was invited to play for Team Canada at the Karjala Cup. The event runs Nov. 8-12 in Finland and Switzerland and serves as an evaluation for Canada's 2018 Olympic Team.
100 GAMES
Five Badgers have skated in at least 100 games played with senior forward Ryan Wagner leading the way (119 GP). Also over the 100 games-played threshold are senior defenseman Jake Linhart (118), senior forward Cameron Hughes (115) and senior defenseman Tim Davison (115). Graduate transfer goaltender Kyle Hayton has also played in 116 games.
Five others, including Jason Ford (94), Matt Ustaski (86) Seamus Malone (83), Will Johnson (83), and Peter Tischke (75), are within striking distance of 100 games played.
UW boasted seven skaters last season with at least 100 games played, the most since the 2013–14 Badgers had 11 skaters over 100 career games played.
CAPTAINS
Senior forward Cameron Hughes was named team captain after serving as an alternate captain in 2016-17.Â
The four Badgers joining Hughes as alternate captains are senior forward Ryan Wagner and senior defenseman Jake Linhart, as well as junior forward Seamus Malone and sophomore forward Trent Frederic.
The five-member leadership crew is the largest in program history, not counting the three seasons during which the Badgers have rotated and had game captains.
UW has had combinations of four captains and assistant captains on six prior occasions, including most recently during the 2012-13 season when captain John Ramage had assistant help from Ryan Little, Derek Lee and Frankie Simonelli.
Other than Hughes, who served as one of UW's two alternate captains last season, the remaining four Badgers will wear a letter on their jersey's for the first time in their UW careers.
SCORING PUNCH
In the offensively-minded Big Ten, the Badgers scored with the best of them last season, averaging 3.39 goals per game to rank No. 9 in the country. That mark ranked fourth among Big Ten schools.Â
Sophomore forward and 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Trent Frederic enters the season as UW's leading returning scorer after posting 15 goals and 33 points as a rookie.
Four Badgers scored double figures, including three who return for the squad. Frederic led the returners with 15 goals, while both Seamus Malone and Will Johnson tallied 10 times last year. UW lost leader scorer Luke Kunin to the pros after the second-team All-American tallied 22 goals and 38 points last year.
The Badgers add some punch, as well, with freshman speedster Linus Weissbach joining the team. Weissbach led the USHL's Tri-City Storm last season with 47 points on 19 goals and 28 assists.
Frosh defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk enters after playing as one of the USHL's most offensive defenseman last season. With the Bloomington Thunder, Kalynuk paced the defense and ranked seventh in the USHL among rear guards with 31 points (6 g, 25 a).
DEFENSE GET TOUGH
The biggest area of improvement for the Badgers from last year might come in UW's own zone with the addition of three NHL drafted defensemen and All-American goaltender Kyle Hayton.
U.S. National Team Development product Tyler Inamoto is the highest drafted of the newcomers after he was picked by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round (133rd overall) this summer. Wyatt Kalynuk went in the seventh round (196th) to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks drafted Josh Ess in the seventh round (215th).
UW ranked 46th out of 60 teams in the nation last season, allowing an average of 3.28 goals per game.
FEELING A DRAFT
Wisconsin begins the season with nine NHL draft picks on its roster.Â
UW had four players selected in 2017, including three defensemen. That marks the first time since 2008 that three Badger defensemen were chosen by NHL teams.
Defenseman Tyler Inamoto (5th round, 133rd overall) was the highest pick for the Badgers in this year's draft, followed by defensemen Wyatt Kalynuk (196th) and Josh Ess (215th), both in the seventh round.
Forward Linus Weissbach was also selected in the seventh round, going 192nd overall.
This marks the second consecutive year that four Badgers were chosen in the NHL Draft.
CURRENT UW DRAFT PICKSÂ Â Â
NCAA ATTENDANCE RANKINGS
Wisconsin finished the season ranked second in the country in average attendance at 10,157.7 fans per game. North Dakota led the country at 11,504.9.Â
Wisconsin has led the country in attendance 38 times all time, including most recently in the 2011–12 season.
COACHING THEM UP
All three Wisconsin coaches are Badgers' alumni with head coach Tony Granato (1983–87), associate head coach Mark Osiecki (1987–90) and associate head coach Mark Strobel (1991–95) all having skated for UW.
Granato, who completed his degree last year during his first season as UW head coach, will face a similar challenge this season as the 2018 U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team head coach.Â
UW's director of hockey operations Shane Connelly gives UW two former Badger athletes with NCAA titles on their resume. Connelly was a member of UW's 2006 NCAA title-winning team, while Osiecki played for the Badgers' 1990 NCAA championship team. Osiecki also served as an assistant coach for the 2006 team during his first coaching stint at UW.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin hits the road for a Big Ten test, traveling to No. 6 Minnesota for a Friday-Saturday series, Dec. 1-2.Â
