MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's hockey team begins its final two weekends of Big Ten play by traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for a series at No. 8 Ohio State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14-15.
Friday's game starts at 6 p.m. CT and streams on B1G+, while Saturday's contest begins at 7:30 p.m. and airs on Big Ten Network.
Here are six quick things to know before tuning in:
Rosters: Wisconsin || Ohio State
Game Notes: Wisconsin
1 - ON THE CUSP OF MILESTONES: Multiple Badgers have the ability to reach major milestones this weekend at Ohio State.
If junior forward Jack Horbach plays in Friday's contest, he'll reach the 100 NCAA games played milestone. That will make him the ninth Badger to skate in 100 career NCAA games. Junior forward Kyle Kukkonen could be the 10th current Badger to reach the mark within the next two weeks, having played in 96 career games between Wisconsin (30) and Michigan Tech.
Junior defenseman Ben Dexheimer, who recently played in his 100th game, has 49 career assists and could reach the 50 mark this weekend.
Graduate student forward Ryland Mosley has 49 career goals and will be searching for his 50th at Ohio State. He has 13 goals as a Badger.
If he plays in both games this weekend, Saturday will mark his 160th game played in his collegiate career.
2 - OK ON THE PK: The Badgers sit second in the Big Ten on penalty kill percentage with 80.6 percent. Last weekend, the Badgers killed nine of 11 Penn State power plays, including going 4-for-4 on Friday. UW has allowed just five power-play goals over the last 20 games (38 for 44).
Wisconsin also continues to be one of the most disciplined teams in the nation as it's currently tied for 52nd in the NCAA in average penalty minutes per game with 8.1.
3 - THIRTY IS A MAGIC NUMBER: The Badgers currently have three skaters with 30 points: Quinn Finley (19g, 15a, 34p), Ryland Mosley (13g, 17a, 30p) and Gavin Morrissey (9g, 21a, 30p).
The last time UW had three people with at least 30 points was during the 2020-21 season when Cole Caufield (52), Linus Weissbach (41), Dylan Holloway (35) and Ty Pelton-Byce (31) all finished with over 30 points.
In both 2023-24 and 2022-23, only two UW skaters reached the 30 point mark in each season.
4 - LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers enter the series after suffering 2-0 and 6-2 losses against Penn State on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8.
In game one, the Badgers put up 25 shots on goal but couldn't crack PSU as they fell, 2-0. Penn State got on the board first, 3:10 into the first period. Each team had four power-play chances, including a chance for each program on a five-minute major power-play, but no one was able to light the lamp to tie the game for Wisconsin or extend PSU's lead. The Badgers continued to fight, pulling their goaltender for an extra attacker with two minutes left in the contest, but PSU tallied an empty-net goal to take home a 2-0 win.
In game two, two late power-play goals for the Nittany Lions proved to be fatal as UW lost, 6-2. Wisconsin opened the scoring 11:57 into the first period on a shot from
Kyle Kukkonen. Penn State responded 14:58 into the frame before adding another goal 6:36 into the second to take a 2-1 lead. PSU made it a 3-1 game 4:49 into the third period before
Ryland Mosley scored another power-play goal for Wisconsin to cut the Nittany Lions' lead in half. Penn State then struck three more times in the final 7:16 of the third, twice on the power play and once short-handed into the empty net, to take home a 6-2 victory and the series sweep.
5 - SCOUTING OHIO STATE: The No. 8 Buckeyes currently have an 18-8-2 record, including an 11-6-1 record (34 points) in Big Ten play. They head into the weekend after sweeping Notre Dame in South Bend with a pair of 5-1 victories.
Graduate student forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine leads the roster with 13 goals and 29 points in 28 games played. OSU has been splitting its goaltending duties between senior Logan Terness and sophomore Kristoffer Eberly. Terness has seven wins in 13 starts, accumulating a .924 save percentage and a 2.23 goals-allowed on average. Eberly has 11 wins in 15 starts with a .917 save percentage and a 2.17 goals-allowed on average.
The Badgers and Buckeyes last met on Oct. 18-19 in Madison. Ohio State won game one, 2-1, in overtime, and game two, 2-1, in regulation.
6 - HOW TO WATCH: Friday's game starts at 6 p.m. CT and streams on B1G+, while Saturday's contest begins at 7:30 p.m. and airs on the Big Ten Network. Audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA or on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
