MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's hockey team (10-15-5, 6-9-5-2 B1G) makes its final regular-season road trip of the year with a visit to No. 19 Penn State (17-11-2, 9-10-1-1 B1G) this weekend. The Badgers skated to a series split at then-No. 15 Notre Dame last weekend, winning 2-1 on Friday, but dropping a 5-2 contest Saturday.
Friday's game against the Nittany Lions begins at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday's is set for a 6 p.m. start at Pegula Ice Arena (CT).
Here are six notes to know ahead of the Badgers' final road series against the Nittany Lions.Â
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BATTLE FOR HOME ICE: With four games remaining for the Badgers, they sit five points out of the final home playoff spot for the upcoming Big Ten tournament. Despite sitting five points out of the final spot, the Badgers control their own destiny with a road series at Penn State this weekend and the regular-season's final series against Michigan at the Kohl Center.
BACK IN BUSINESS: Sophomore forward
Sean Dhooghe ended an 11-game goal-scoring drought when he scored his 10th goal of the season last Saturday at Notre Dame. The sophomore got off to a hot start at the beginning of the season, tallying five goals and seven points in the first four games. Dhooghe's 10 goals pace the team, while his 17 total points are tied for fourth.
THE LINUS EFFECT: Sophomore forward
Linus Weissbach has been an integral piece to the Wisconsin puzzle this season. The Badgers are 4-0-1 this season when Weissbach scores a goal. He also snapped the team's seven-game power-play goal drought that included 25 chances on the man advantage with a goal in UW's 2-1 victory at No. 15 Notre Dame last Friday. Weissbach is tied for fourth on the Badgers' roster with 17 points in 20 games played, and boasts three goals and six points over the last eight contests. Â
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER: With 32 goals and 84 points through 30 games, the Badgers' talented freshmen class accounts for nearly 40 percent of Wisconsin's scoring this season. Wisconsin's freshman class ranks fourth in the nation and first in the Big Ten with 84 points. Rookie defenseman
K'Andre Miller leads the way with five goals and 22 points in 26 games, and freshmen
Brock Caufield (6G, 5A),
Roman Ahcan (5G, 6A) and
Ty Emberson (3G, 8A) are tied for second among Badger rookies with 11 points each. The Badgers' first-year corps have combined for more than half (14-of-24) of Wisconsin's goals in the past 11 contests.Â
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS: No. 19 Penn State enters the weekend with the nation's top-ranked offense (4.63 GPG) and a 17-11-2 overall record in 30 games. The Nittany Lions are 9-10-1-1 with four games remaining in Big Ten play, most recently coming off a series split at Michigan State.
Penn State boasts some of the nation's top leading scorers in sophomores Evan Barratt (10g, 21p) and Alex Limoges (8g, 20p). Barratt is tied for sixth with 15 goals and 37 points in 26 games, and Limoges commands the fifth position with 16 goals and 30 points in 30 contests. Penn State goaltender Peyton Jones owns a 3.38 Â goals against average and an .897 save percentage through 23 games this year.
The last time the Badgers and the Nittany Lions met, UW earned a tie and a win over the Penn State in December, skating to a 3-3 tie and an 8-5 upset win over the then-No. 6 Nittany Lions. Seventeen different UW skaters tallied points in the series, including freshman defenseman
K'Andre Miller, who posted a five-point weekend to earn the Big Ten First Star of the Week.
SKATE WITH THE BADGERS: Wisconsin will hold its annual 'Skate with the Badgers' on Sunday, Feb. 24 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Kohl Center. Â Admission is free, but participants must bring their own skates to take part on the ice. Those interested in meeting the Badgers and getting autographs without skates can do so from the stands.
