MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's hockey team hits the road for Columbus, Ohio to take on No. 6 Ohio State in its first road series of the Big Ten regular season. Last weekend, the Badgers skated to a split against then-No. 16 Minnesota, falling in 3-2 game on Friday, before grabbing a 3-1 victory on Saturday.
Friday's contest against the Buckeyes is slated for at 6 p.m. (CT) start, while Saturday's puck drops at 4 p.m.
Here are six notes to know ahead of this weekend's series in Columbus.
DIFFICULT STRETCH: With the road trip to Columbus, UW continues its five-week, 10-game stretch against ranked opponents. The Badgers began the slate against No. 14/15 North Dakota, suffering a pair of losses in Grand Forks before splitting a series with then-No. 16/14 Minnesota last weekend in Madison. Following their series with the Buckeyes, the Badgers travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a pair of Big Ten contests against the No. 16/RV Wolverines. Wisconsin rounds out the stretch with a home series against No. 5 Penn State on Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
THE FINNISH HAMMER: Freshman goaltender
Daniel Lebedeff has made three consecutive starts in goal for the Badgers, and is expected to make his fourth start in Friday's match up against the Buckeyes. The Helsinki, Finland, native backstopped UW in its two-game series against Minnesota last weekend, stopping 56 of 60 shots across the series. In six appearances, Lebedeff is 3-2-0 with a 2.03 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
SIXTH TO SCORE: Freshman winger
Jack Gorniak became the latest UW rookie to notch his first collegiate goal after scoring an empty-net insurance goal in the Badgers' series finale against Minnesota, securing a 3-1 win over the Gophers. Gorniak has one goal and two points, and has played in all 10 games this season.
Six of Wisconsin's eight freshman skaters have notched goals so far this season, and seven have tallied points. Defenseman
K'Andre Miller leads Badger rookies in point-scoring with two goals and nine points on the year. Miller's point totals also rank second among Big Ten rookies.
STRENGTH FROM THE BLUE LINE: Wisconsin's defensive unit has been an asset so far this season. Through 10 games, the Badgers have eight goals and 25 points from their blue line. The eight goals are tied for the sixth in the country, three off the national pace, while the 25 points share 12th among the country's defensive corps. Three of Wisconsin's five game-winning goals have come from Badger rear guards, with sophomore
Josh Ess becoming the latest defenseman to tally a game-winner.
Sophomore defenseman
Wyatt Kalynuk and rookie blue-liner
K'Andre Miller currently make up two of Wisconsin's top three scorers this season. Kalynuk leads all Badgers with five goals and 11 points, while Miller ranks third with two goals and nine points. Kalynuk's point totals also rank second among Big Ten blue-liners, just one point behind leading scorer in senior rear guard Bobby Nardella of Notre Dame. Miller's nine points are tied for third among all conference defensemen and first among rookies.
BLOCK AND BLUE: For the second time in three games, Wisconsin eclipsed 25 blocks in a game when they stopped 27 shots from reaching the net last Saturday against Minnesota. UW had 25 blocks on Nov. 3 at North Dakota. Prior to those two games, UW last had blocked at least 25 shots on Jan. 26 against Penn State.
Senior defenseman
Peter Tischke is once again among the nation's leaders in blocked shots, pacing the Badgers and ranking 12th in the country with 21 in 10 games. Last season, Tischke ranked 13th in the country with 79 blocks, and 11th with an average of 2.14 blocks per game. He was UW's leader for the 2016–17 campaign with 60 blocks.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE: The No. 6 Buckeyes enter the weekend with a 6-3-1 overall record and a 1-1-0-0 slate in the Big Ten. Ohio State posted a pair of road shutouts last weekend at Colgate, blanking the Red Raiders, 3-0, last Friday, then earning a 1-0 victory on Saturday. OSU has three shutouts in its last four games and four in 10 games this season. Last season, Ohio State was one of three Big Ten teams to make the 2018 NCAA Frozen Four. The Buckeyes met eventual champion Minnesota Duluth in the semifinals, falling 2-1 to the Bulldogs.
The Buckeyes returned their top two scorers in senior Mason Jobst and junior Tanner Laczynski. Laczynski led Ohio State with 17 goals and 47 points, while Jobst ranked second with a team-high 21 goals and 43 points. Goaltender Sean Romeo is back for his senior season after posting a 2.06 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in 37 games played last year. Romeo and sophomore netminder Tommy Nappier have shared the net so far this year. Nappier owns a 1.32 goals against average and a .957 save clip in six games, while Romeo has a 2.64 goals average and an .892 save percentage.
This weekend's series marks the 34th and 35th meetings between the Badgers and the Buckeyes. The Badgers are 18-12-3 all-time and 6-5-1 on the road against the Buckeyes. In its most recent match up with the Buckeyes, UW was swept by OSU in Columbus last February. Wisconsin lost by four goals in each game, dropping the opener, 6-2, before falling, 4-0, in the series finale.
