No. 12 Wisconsin welcomes No. 4 Notre Dame for first time in 13 years
December 07, 2017 | Men's Hockey
Badgers and Fighting Irish meet Friday and Saturday at Kohl Center in Big Ten battle
HERE COME THE IRISH
No. 12 Wisconsin (10-7-2, 4-3-1-0 Big Ten) returns home to close out the 2017 portion of its 2017–18 season and play host to No. 4 Notre Dame (14-3-1, 8-0-0 Big Ten). Friday's game begins at 8 p.m., while Saturday is a 7 p.m. start.
Wisconsin split a road series last weekend at No. 7 Minnesota, falling 5-4 then gaining a 3-2 victory. Notre Dame posted a sweep at Michigan State with 3-1 and 2-0 victories.Â
Notre Dame enters the series riding an 11-game winning streak that includes eight victories in Big Ten play.
Notre Dame's 8-0-0 mark in Big Ten play has it in first place, nine points clear of second-place Minnesota, but the Badgers are the only other league team above .500 in league play (4-3-1).Â
Friday's game airs live on BTN at 8 p.m., while Saturday's game will be shown on Fox Sports Wisconsin Plus at 7 p.m. Both games will stream on the BTN2Go app and at BTN2go.com for cable and satellite subscribers.
Wisconsin will meet Notre Dame for conference games for the first time since Feb. 27-28, 1981, when both were members of the WCHA. The teams split that series at Notre Dame, with the Fighting Irish 4-2 winners in the first game, and UW 7-0 victors in the second.
The teams also split the most recent conference series in Madison, with UW falling 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 14, 1980, and winning 4-0 on Nov. 15, 1980.
| Game 20Â | Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame | |
| Date | Friday, Dec. 8Â | 8 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center (15,359) |
| Watch | BTNÂ |Â BTN2Go |
| Listen | WIBA 1310Â | Â Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
| Tickets | UWBadgers.com |
| Game 21 | Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame | |
| Date | Saturday, Dec. 9 | 7 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center (15,359) |
| Watch | Fox Sports Wisconsin Plus | BTN2Go |
| Listen | WIBA 1310 Â | Â Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
| Tickets | UWBadgers.com |
SERIES NOTES
Notre Dame
The teams meet for the 66th and 67th times, and  for the first times since Oct. 12, 2007.
The Badgers own a three-game winning streak in the series, but that includes games in 2005 and 2007.
Wisconsin will meet Notre Dame for conference games for the first time since Feb. 27-28, 1981, when both were members of the WCHA. The teams split that series at Notre Dame, with the Fighting Irish 4-2 winners in the first game, and UW 7-0 victors in the second.
The teams also split the most recent conference series in Madison, with UW falling 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 14, 1980, and winning 4-0 on Nov. 15, 1980.Â
Wisconsin played host to Notre Dame on Oct. 3, 1998, in the first hockey game at the Kohl Center. UW fell 2-1 in the game.
Notre Dame last visited the Kohl Center on Jan. 17-18, 2004, with the teams skating to a 2-2 tie on the first night and the Fighting Irish winning 3-1 the second evening.
Notre Dame, at 246 miles away, is the closest NCAA Division I hockey program to the Badgers in the country. Minnesota is second at 270 miles from Madison. Â
Wisconsin-Notre Dame Connections
Notre Dame sophomore forward Luke Novak hails from Waukesha, Wisconsin. Novak was teammates with UW sophomore goaltender Jack Berry with the New Jersey Hitmen of the USPHL.
UW associate head coach Mark Osiecki's brother  Matt played at Notre Dame from 1990–94.
Wisconsin freshmen Sean Dhooghe and Tyler Inamoto were teammates with Notre Dame rookie goaltender Dylan St. Cyr with the U.S. National Team Development program last season.
Senior defenseman Jake Linhart was teammates with Notre Dame senior defenseman Jordan Gross and senior forward Dawson Cook with the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers.
Freshman forward Tarek Baker was teammates with Notre Dame frosh defenseman Matt Hellickson part of last season with the Sioux City Musketeers in the USHL.
Junior defensemen Peter Tiscke and Jake Bunz, along with sophomore forward Max Zimmer, were teammates with Notre Dame defenseman Dennis Gilbert with the USHL's Chicago Steel during the 2014–15 season.
Forwards Matthew Freytag and Dan Labosky were teammates with Notre Dame defensemen Tory Dello and Bobby Nardella with the Tri-City Storm.
LAST MEETINGS
Wisconsin 4, Notre Dame 1
October 12, 2007
Meeting for the season opener at the Lefty McFadden Invitational in Dayton, Ohio, the Badgers used a three-goal third period to break open a tie game and finish with 4-1 victory.
After Josh Engel gave UW a first-period lead, with help from Matthew Ford and Davis Drewiske, ND tied the game with the lone goal of the second frame.Â
Then in the third period, Aaron Bendickson, Sean Dolan and Kyle Turris lit the lamp to provide the difference.Â
UW went 1-for-3 on the power play and 6-for-7 on the penalty kill.Â
Current UW Director of Hockey Operations Shane Connelly made 23 saves to earn the victory for the Badgers.
Eight future NHL Badgers skated in the game, including Turris, Ben Street, Blake Geoffrion, Ryan McDonagh, Cody Goloubef, Brendan Smith, Jamie McBain and Davis Drewiske.
BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSINÂ BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 30-22-3 (2nd Year)
Overall: 30-22-3 (2nd Year)
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
Head Coach: Jeff Jackson
Record at ND: 282-170-53 (13th Year)
Overall: 464-222-78 (19th Year)
BY THE NUMBERS
1 -Â Wisconsin will hold its first "Teddy Bear Toss" after Saturday's game at the Kohl Center. Fans can bring new Teddy Bears, or purchase them at Bucky's Locker Room before the game, to throw on to the ice.
.961 -Â Sophomore goaltender Jack Berry stopped 49 of 51 shots faced last weekend at Minnesota, good for a .961 save percentage. Berry was 9-for-9 last Friday in relief, then 40 of 42 in a 3-2 win last Saturday.
246Â -Â Notre Dame, at 246 miles away, is the closest NCAA Division I hockey program to the Badgers in the country. Minnesota is second at 270 miles from Madison.Â
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
The Badgers and Fighting Irish will meet again on Jan. 19 at Notre Dame, then on Jan. 21 at the United Center in Chicago.
Sophomore goaltender Jack Berry successfully stopped a Minnesota penalty shot last Saturday against Minnesota, turning away Jack Ramsey at 18:48 of the first period. The penalty shot marked the first one faced for a UW goaltender since Matt Jurusik stopped Brendan Warren during the second period of a game Dec. 4, 2015, at Michigan.
Wisconsin is 7-2-0 this season when outscoring its opponents in the third period of games, while it is 1-5-2 when losing the third period.
The Badgers have outscored opponents 66-52 this season, including 22-13 in the first period and 24-19 in the second period and 20-19 in third periods. UW has been edged 1-0 in overtimes.
Sophomore Trent Frederic continued his stellar play against Minnesota last weekend with two goals and an assist. The points extended his scoring streak to all six games he's played against Minnesota and give him five goals and seven points over the six meetings.
Frederic's goals each night were the only scored in the third period, with Saturday's serving as the game-winning goal by breaking a 2-2 tie in a 3-2 victory.
The game-winning tally was Frederic's first of the season and fourth of his career.
UW continued its fast starts last Friday, scoring 7:14 into the game against Minnesota when frosh forward Sean Dhooghe scored a power-play goal. The Badgers have scored first in 13 of 19 games this season and sit 8-4-1 in those contests.
Sophomore goaltender Jack Berry has stopped 73 of the last 77 shots he's faced for a .948 save percentage.
Berry made a career-high 40 saves in last Saturday's 3-2 victory over Minnesota, making 20 stops in the third period. That comes close to Berry's last start at Minnesota on Feb. 24, when he made 36 saves, including 17 in the third period, in UW's 3-2 victory at Minnesota.
Berry is 3-1-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and one shutout this season.
Freshman forward Linus Weissbach boasts a career-long, five-game point-scoring streak during which he has two goals and five assists. Weissbach owns five goals and 13 points in 16 games this season. He missed last Saturday's contest with an injury.
Senior forward Jason Forward become the sixth current Badger to skate in 100 career college games, and the fifth to do so at Wisconsin when he played last Saturday at Minnesota. Goaltender Kyle Hayton played in more than 100 games at St. Lawrence before transferring to UW.
Wisconsin boasts eight skaters with between five and eight goals on the season. Sophomore forward Trent Frederic leads the team with eight goals, while senior forward Ryan Wagner, junior forward Seamus Malone and freshman forward Tarek Baker boast seven markers. Senior forward Cameron Hughes has six goals, while junior forwards Will Johnson and Matthew Freytag and freshman Linus Weissbach own five goals.Â
Wisconsin's eight skaters with at least five goals are the most among Big Ten schools. The next closest are Minnesota, Notre Dane and Penn State, which all have five players with at least five goals.
SPECIAL TEAMS
UW is 10th nationally with its 23.6 percent power play (17-for-72), which is tops in the Big Ten.Â
This week's opponent, Notre Dame, ranks fifth in the country with an 88.5 percent penalty kill (54-for-61).
Wisconsin's penalty kill is 57-for-70 (.814) on the season, ranking fourth in the Big Ten and 30th nationally. UW was a 6-for-8 at Minnesota last weekend.
Wisconsin was +15 on special teams last season, but -9 at even strength. UW is +11 at even strength this year, and +3 on special teams.
WORLD JUNIORS
Sophomore forward Trent Frederic was named to the U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster on Tuesday, one of 28 players named. This year's event takes place Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Buffalo, New York.
Should Frederic make the squad, he will be the 54th Badger all-time to play in the tournament since its official start in 1978.
Of Team USA four all-time gold medals, Badgers served as captain for three (Luke Kunin - 2017; Jake McCabe - 2013; Derek Stepan - 2010). The first Team USA gold in the tournament was led by then-UW head coach Mike Eaves (2004).
WHERE THEY RANK
A handful of Badgers rank among the top players in the Big Ten in various categories.
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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
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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
Six Badgers have skated in at least 100 games played with senior forward Ryan Wagner leading the way (125 GP). Also over the 100 games-played threshold are senior defenseman Jake Linhart (124), senior forward Cameron Hughes (121), senior defenseman Tim Davison (121) and senior forward Jason Ford (100). Graduate transfer goaltender Kyle Hayton has also played in 120 games.
Four others, including Seamus Malone (89), Will Johnson (89), Matt Ustaski (88) and Peter Tischke (81), 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
| NAME | TEAM | YEAR | RD./PICK |
| Trent Frederic | Boston | 2016 | 1/29 |
| JD Greenway | Toronto | 2016 | 3/72 |
| Max Zimmer | Carolina | 2016 | 4/104 |
| Tyler Inamoto | Florida | 2017 | 5/133 |
| Cameron Hughes | Boston | 2015 | 6/165 |
| Matt Ustaski | Winnipeg | 2014 | 7/192 |
| Linus Weissbach | Buffalo | 2017 | 7/192 |
| Wyatt Kalynuk | Philadelphia | 2017 | 7/196 |
| Josh Ess | Chicago | 2017 | 7/215 |
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 opens the second half of the season with a road trip, Jan. 5-6, 2018, to Penn State.
