Badgers firing on all cylinders ahead of visit from Ohio State
· Yahoo Sports
The Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team is out to one of their best starts in program history, and certainly their best start in the 21st century after earning a shootout win and a 6-0 shutout over the Gophers last weekend. They sit atop the rankings for the second consecutive week while awaiting a visit from Ohio State this weekend.
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But before we get into Ohio State, let’s revisit last weekend’s trip to Minneapolis, shall we?
No. 1 Wisconsin (7-0-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten) is cruising behind their two-headed monster in goal. Sophomores Alexis Cournoyer and Daniel Hauser are both benefiting from the timeshare in the crease, as the Badgers have posted three shutouts so far this season (four if you include the exhibition against Western Michigan). They’ve allowed just six goals since the start of the season.
Cournoyer only conceded one goal against the Gophers, and it was in the waning seconds of a five-minute power play after Grady Deering was ejected for boarding in the first period. Wisconsin found the equalizer, and Cournoyer was a perfect three-for-three in the shootout to earn the extra point in the conference standings.
Hauser blanked Minnesota on Saturday night for his second shutout of the season, the first road shutout against Minnesota in 16 years. Through four starts, Hauser is now allowing just 0.50 goals per game, a steep decline from his counterpart, Cournoyer, who is allowing a whopping 0.98 goals per game in his four starts.
The Badger defensemen also get a good chunk of the credit. After the Gophers struck first on Friday, Wisconsin only allowed seven shot attempts over the final 45 minutes. Hauser faced just 24 shot attempts Saturday.
As good as the defense and goaltending have been, the offense is really starting to hum as well. Wisconsin is averaging just shy of five goals per game, having now eclipsed the six-goal threshold in three of their last four games. They lead the nation in scoring margin and have outscored their opponents 36-6 so far this season.
Junior Gavin Morrissey has been just the spark the top line needed to get going, posting back-to-back five-point weekends in Big Ten play. He became the first Badger to reach a double-digit point total this year, mostly as a facilitator with his 11 assists.
Far and away the biggest offensive surprise last weekend was junior defenseman Jack Phelan, who finally scored his first goal as a Badger in his 81st career game. Phelan is well aware that good things come in pairs, so he added a second goal for good measure. Interestingly enough, Phelan hasn’t contributed two goals in a single season since he was playing 14U hockey in Chicago.
Now, onto this weekend.
Wisconsin enters the weekend holding a six-point edge in the conference standings, but the lack of data points for other teams is as much of a factor as the Badgers playing well. The Big Ten standings won’t mean much until we get to January. Still, the name of the game is regulation wins in conference games, and Wisconsin has an opportunity to grab a couple more over the next two days.
It feels like every time Wisconsin meets Ohio State (3-5-0, 1-1-0 Big Ten) there is retribution on the line. The Buckeyes have been a thorn in Mike Hastings’ side since taking over in Madison back in 2023, and last year was no exception. After splitting in the regular season, Ohio State came to the Kohl Center and clobbered Wisconsin, 7-1, ensuring the Badgers were one-and-done in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Badgers haven’t swept a two-game series against Ohio State since December 2023, something they’ll need to do if they want to carry the number one ranking into next week. Sweeping the Buckeyes doesn’t seem like a tall task on paper, but just ask Michigan. The Wolverines split with Ohio State, which opened the door for Wisconsin to claim the top ranking two weeks ago. In fact, Michigan was fortunate enough to score a late equalizer in their second game to escape with an overtime win.
Aside from the Michigan series, Ohio State has been anything but impressive. They’ll be well-rested coming off a bye, but this is a team that split with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Sacred Heart before losing twice to Augustana. The Buckeyes score just as many goals as they concede and have been generally ineffective on the penalty kill.
The bright spot for the Buckeyes is freshman forward Evan Jardine, a fourth-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this year. Jardine leads Ohio State in both goals and assists. They also bring back last season’s point leader in sophomore Jake Karabela, as well as senior Max Montes, the Wisconsin native who seemingly always shows up against the Badgers.
Goaltending duties have been split evenly between Jakub Milota and Kristoffer Eberly through the first eight games, but I won’t be shocked to see it turn into Milota’s crease sooner rather than later. Milota’s 2.43 goals against average and sub-.900 save percentage don’t leap off the page, but his counterpart sits at 3.82 goals against with an .821 save percentage. Those numbers mirror Eberly’s performance in 16 appearances last year, which is a giant albatross around the neck for a team looking to compete in a conference like the Big Ten.
The boys deserve a rowdy welcome when they return to play in front of a Kohl Center crowd as the number one team in college hockey. This is a legitimately dangerous hockey team with very lofty aspirations. The team officially announced that the third level of seating will be open on Saturday night. With the women’s hockey team playing in the afternoon and the football team in Maryland for an early start on Saturday, there is no reason the Kohl Center shouldn’t be rocking all weekend.
Friday night’s opener begins at 7:00 p.m., with Saturday’s game scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Both games are set to stream on B1G+ with local radio coverage on 1310 WIBA.
Game Info
Game 1
Date: Friday, November 13
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1310 WIBA
Game 2
Date: Saturday, November 14
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center
TV: B1G+ | Radio: 1310 WIBA