MADISON, Wis. — After a three-week long break, the Wisconsin men's hockey team hits the Kohl Center ice to open the 2019 portion of the season with a pair of non-conference contests against No. 8 Denver. Before the break, the Badgers swept Michigan State to extend their unbeaten streak to six games, defeating the Spartans 5-3 and 3-0 to close out the calendar year.
Both games against Denver are slated for 7 p.m. CT starts (
Tickets).
Here are six notes to know ahead of this week's battle against the Pioneers.
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WINNING: Wisconsin is unbeaten in its last six games (3-0-3), the longest unbeaten streak during the
Tony Granato coaching era. UW won five consecutive games from Jan. 21-Feb. 4, 2017 to set the standard. The current streak is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Thanks in part to the streak, Wisconsin is tied for first in Big Ten standings with Ohio State at 16 points, though the Badgers have played two more games than all but Michigan.
ALL THE STARS: Following the Michigan State series, sophomore forward
Sean Dhooghe's two-goal, two-assist performance earned the forward Big Ten First Star of the Week honors. Dhooghe's stats paced the Badgers to the home sweep over the Spartans and jumped Wisconsin into a tie for first place in the Big Ten standings. The award marked Dhooghe's second weekly honor of the season. The Aurora, Illinois, native was recognized as the Second Star of the Week following his four-goal showing against Clarkson and St. Lawrence last October.
OH DANNY BOY: Freshman goaltender
Daniel Lebedeff made 21 saves, including nine on the power play and 13 in the third period, to capture his first career shutout, a 3-0 victory over Michigan State on Dec. 8 in UW's last contest. The freshman currently owns a 5-3-2 record in 12 games for the Badgers with a .911 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average.
HOME-ICE ADVANTAGE: Wisconsin is 7-2-1 through 10 games at the Kohl Center this year, already matching last year's home win total accumulated over 19 contests. The Badgers have seven regular-season games remaining at the Kohl Center and look for their first winning season at home since going 17-2-1 during the 2013–14 campaign. That 2013–14 team posted the second best home winning percentage in school history (.875).
MAJOR KEY: Freshman defenseman
K'Andre Miller was named to the U.S. Junior National Team for the 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship taking place in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Miller suited up for three of the Americans' first four contests, recording an assist in Team USA's 8-2 rout of Kazakhstan.
With three wins and an overtime loss, the Americans placed second behind Sweden in the group stage. The team moves on to the knockout stage where they will face the Czech Republic in a quarterfinal match up. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. (CT) on Jan. 2 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, B.C. Â
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Denver currently owns a 10-4-2 overall record through 16 games and sits  in second place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with four wins and four losses. The Pioneers are coming off a two-game stint on the east coast, defeating Merrimack, 3-1, last Friday before earning a 4-1 win over UMass Lowell on Saturday to finish off the weekend.
Senior Jarid Lukosevicius and freshman Emilio Pettersen pace the Denver offense with 17 points apiece. Lukosevicius also leads the Pioneers in goal scoring with 11 tallies. Sophomore goaltender Devin Cooley is 8-4-1 on the season with a .930 save percentage, a 2.07 goals against average and a pair of shutouts. Denver also boast the 11th-ranked team offense (3.38 GPG) and the 10th-ranked defense (2.12 GAPG).
Former Badger All-American and national scoring champion Steve Reinprecht serves DU as volunteer assistant coach. Reinprecht won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche during his NHL career.
The Badgers and the Pioneers will meet for the 152nd and 153rd contests. Wisconsin leads the all-time series 76-62-13 against the Pioneers, but Denver has earned wins in three of the last four meetings. The Badgers are looking for their first victory in the series since skating to a  3-1 victory on Dec.1, 2012, in Denver.
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