MADISON, Wis. – After a bye week last week, the Wisconsin men's hockey team plays its third non-conference series of the year when Alaska Anchorage visits the Kohl Center on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29-30.
Friday's game starts at 7 p.m. CT and Saturday's game starts at 8 p.m. CT. Both games stream on B1G+.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Badgers || Seawolves
1 - OFFENSIVE BREAKOUT: Wisconsin broke out on the scoresheet in its most recent series at Penn State, scoring 11 times in the two road games for the first time in any series since scoring 12 in a road sweep at Minnesota in February 2021. Prior to the series, UW had 18 goals in its first 10 games of the season.
During the weekend, the Badgers boasted nine different goal scorers after just eight had goals through the first 10 games of the season. Four different skaters scored their first goals of the season at PSU, including two who tallied their first goals as Badgers. Sophomore Sawyer Scholl and graduate student transfer Cody Laskosky tallied on Friday, Nov. 15, while junior forwards Christian Fitzgerald and Tyson Dyck tallied on Saturday, Nov. 16. It marked first-year Badger Laskosky's first at UW and second-year Badger Dyck's first at Wisconsin in his 40th game.
2 - FINLEY'S SEEING STARS: Sophomore forward
Quinn Finley has continued his hot start to the season, posting a one-goal, four-point weekend against the Nittany Lions. His efforts in the sweep helped him secure a
Big Ten Second Star of the Week honor, the first conference weekly award of his career.
The Suamico, Wisconsin, native is tied for second place in the Big Ten with eight goals, and his 14 points are good to tie for seventh. He's also tied for eighth in the NCAA in goals and 22nd in points.
Finley has points in four straight games (3g, 4a), his second streak of at least four games this year after having points in five consecutive games from Oct. 12 through Oct. 26. His longest point steak as a freshman was two games.
3 - PAVELSKI, BORDERS AND BEARS, OH MY!: Three of the final four home games of the fall semester have a little surrounding them. The Saturday, Nov. 30, game against Alaska Anchorage is 'Badgers Beyond Borders' themed. Join us in celebrating our Badgers from around the world with a concourse display.
During the series against No. 1 Michigan State on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7, there'll be happenings both nights. The annual UW Teddy Toss presented by BMO will take place after Friday's game. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used teddy bears to throw on the ice to be donated to Toys For Tots. Additionally, the game is 'Winter Wonderland' themed – the first 500 students will receive a holiday beanie, and fans are asked to wear their best holiday sweater. The Dec. 6 game is also Military Appreciation Night as we remember Pearl Harbor and honor all those who served.
Saturday's game is Joe Pavelski Night. Join us as we recognize the recently retired 18-year NHL veteran and Wisconsin native's outstanding hockey career.
Fans can
buy tickets to all the upcoming home games here.
4 - LAST TIME OUT: Wisconsin welcomes the Seawolves after a week off, most recently sweeping then-No. 18 Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 15-16. Through 12 games, UW has a 4-8-0 record (3-5-0 Big Ten) and is tied for third in the conference with 11 points.
In game one at Penn State, Wisconsin led 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3, before finally scoring for the 5-4 overtime win. It got on the board first just 3:27 into the first period when
Ryland Mosley redirected a
Quinn Finley shot home. Penn State responded with 1:25 remaining in the period after Aidan Fink found the back of the net on the power play.
Sawyer Scholl and
Cody Laskosky each scored their first goals of the season in the final seven minutes of the second period to give Wisconsin a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Penn State rallied back, tying the game at three with two quick goals in the first seven minutes of the third, but
Ryan Botterill notched his second goal of the year with 8:40 left in the period to give the Badgers back the lead. In the final minute of regulation, the Nittany Lions capitalized on a UW penalty to send the game to overtime tied at four.
Daniel Laatsch proved to be the hero for Wisconsin, tallying the game-winner with 1:12 remaining in the extra time to give the Badgers two big conference points.
In game two, the Badgers won, 6-3, to close out their first conference sweep of the year. Wisconsin got off to a hot start, scoring four goals in the first eight minutes and 20 seconds of the contest after
Kyle Kukkonen,
Quinn Finley,
Christian Fitzgerald and
Tyson Dyck each found the back of the net. Penn State gained momentum in the second period, scoring a goal 48 seconds into the period and one with 6:22 remaining in the frame to cut the Badgers' lead in half. PSU added a third goal with 8:26 of the third period to make it a 4-3 game.
With 8:36 remaining in regulation, the Nittany Lions took a major penalty for boarding, giving Wisconsin a five-minute major power-play. The Badgers capitalized on the man advantage twice, with
Ryland Mosley and
Cody Laskosky each scoring their second goal of the weekend to help UW to a 6-3 victory.
5 - SCOUTING THE SEAWOLVES: Alaska Anchorage (2-9-1 Independent) enters the series after skating to a 4-4 overtime tie and 4-2 loss at home against Lake Superior State on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 23-24.
Freshman forward Dimitry Kebreau leads the roster with nine points (3g, 6a) in 11 games played, while freshman forward Ryan Johnson and senior forward Porter Schachle lead the team with four goals. Sophomore goaltender Greg Orosz has two wins in 10 starts, accumulating a 3.26 goals-against average and an .876 save percentage.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Both games stream live on B1G+. Audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA as well as on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
