MADISON, Wis. — The fifth-ranked Wisconsin men's hockey (15-8-1, 13-6-1 0-1-1 Big Ten) team will face Ohio State (6-15-1, 6-14-0 0-1-0 Big Ten) in its final home series of the season on Friday and Saturday.
The games take place on Friday at 7 p.m. CT and Saturday at 4 p.m. Both will air on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
1 - STAR POWER: Two Badger's received Big Ten star of the week honors. Ty Pelton-Byce was named first star for his six-point weekend (two goals, four assists) against Notre Dame, including a game-tying goal with just 26.8 seconds left in regulation on Saturday. Linus Weissbach became the 75th Badger to notch 100 career points with a goal in Friday's game. He then scored twice more to claim the Big Ten's Third Star of the Week.
Weisbach joined Dany Heatley as European-born Badgers to reach 100 career points.
2 - FIVE AND STEADY: The Badgers are ranked fifth in the nation for the second week in a row following their win and tie against Notre Dame. This is their highest national ranking since Oct. 2019.
3 - LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: The Byce family point total between current Badger Ty Pelton-Byce and his father John Byce recently reached 244 points (106 goals, 138 points), three shy of equaling that of another father-son duo, Gary and Brad Winchester, for seventh on UW's all-time collegiate family scoring list. The Byce totals include Pelton-Byce's scoring from his two years at Harvard. The Winchesters have combined for 247 career points (123 goals, 124 points).
| FAMILY |
GOALS-ASSISTS-POINTS |
| 1. Johnson (Mark, Peter, Patrick) |
229-240-469 |
| 2. Granato (Tony, Don, Rob) |
161-175-336 |
| 3. Lecy (Scott, Todd) |
133-184-317 |
| 4. Johannson (Jim, John) |
127-179-306 |
| 5. Heatley (Murray, Dany, Mark) |
132-126-258 |
| 6. Lundeen (Dave, Paul, Bob, Tom) |
100-150-250 |
| 7. Winchester (Gary, Brad) |
123-124-247 |
| 8. Byce (John, Ty*) |
106-138-244 |
| * - includes two seasons at Harvard |
|
4 - JOINING THE CLUB: Should
Cole Caufield score again this season, he would become UW's first 20-goal scorer since Luke Kunin tallied 22 during the 2016–17 season. His performance would also mark the 95th 20-goal season in UW history and make him the 57th skater to reach the mark.
He would become just the eighth 20-goal scorer dating back to the 1999–2000 season (Luke Kunin, Michael Mersch, Blake Geoffrion, Michael Davies, Robbie Earl, Joe Pavelski, Dany Heatley, Steve Reinprecht).
5 - SCOUTING OHIO STATE: The last time the Badgers and Buckeyes faced off back in December they split the series with OSU claiming the first game 4-2 then Wisconsin bouncing back 3-1 in the second game. The Buckeyes are coming off another split series against No. 7 Michigan where they skated to a 3-2 victory in the first matchup, before they fell 6-0 in the second. Travis Treloar currently lead the Buckeyes with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 22 games played.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Friday and 4 p.m. CT on Saturday. Watch live on Fox Sports Wisconsin or follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey and with live stats on UWBadgers.com.
