Wisconsin resumes men's hockey season at Penn State
January 04, 2018 | Men's Hockey
Badgers skate for first time in 27 days; Saturday's game on BTN
NEW YEAR BEGINS WITH PENN STATE TRIP
No. 15 Wisconsin (10-9-2, 4-5-1-0 Big Ten) returns to the ice for the first time since Dec. 9 when it travels to No. 14/13 Penn State (11-7-2, 4-4-2 Big Ten) for games on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6. Both games begin at 6 p.m. CT.
When the Badgers last skated, they were swept by then-No. 4 Notre Dame, falling 3-2 and 6-2 to the Fighting Irish at the Kohl Center on Dec. 8 and 9. Penn State posted a home-and-home sweep over Robert Morris on Dec. 8 and 9, winning 5-2 on the road and 7-4 at home.Â
PSU is 6-0-2 in its last eight games, and 5-3-1 at home this season.
This marks the second consecutive series that the Badgers' opponent entered with an extended unbeaten streak. UW last faced Notre Dame, which entered on an 11-game winning streak.
Saturday's game airs live on BTN at 6 p.m., and will stream on the BTN2Go app and at BTN2go.com for cable and satellite subscribers.
| Game 22 | Wisconsin at Penn State | |
| Date | Friday, Jan. 5 | 6 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | University Park, Pa. | Pegula Ice Arena (5,704) |
| Watch | BTN Plus |
| Listen | WTSO 1070Â | Â Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
| Tickets | UWBadgers.com |
| Game 23 | Wisconsin at Penn State | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 6 | 6 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | University Park, Pa. | Pegula Ice Arena (5,704) |
| Watch | BTN | BTN2Go |
| Listen | WIBA 1310 Â | Â Badger Sports Network | Listen Live |
| Follow | Live Stats | @BadgerMHockey |
| Game Notes | Wisconsin |
| Tickets | UWBadgers.com |
SERIES NOTES
Penn State
The teams meet for the 22nd and 23rd times, and for the first times since the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game that PSU won, 2-1, in double overtime.
The Badgers are 2-12-0 in the last 14 games against Penn State in the series.
The teams split their series last season at Penn State, with UW winning 7-4, before falling 6-0 the next night (March 3-4). Â
Wisconsin-Penn State Connections
Wisconsin's hockey operations director Shane Connelly hails from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.
UW head coach Tony Granato spent 2009–14 as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
PSU freshman defenseman Cole Hults is from Stoughton, Wisconsin, and skated for the USHL's  Madison Capitols.
UW rookies Sean Dhooghe and Tyler Inamoto were teammates with Penn State frosh Evan Barratt with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
UW winger Dan Labosky and Penn State juniors Kevin Kerr and Chase Berger played together on the Tri-City Storm in the USHL from 2012-15. Wisconsin forward Matthew Freytag played with the trio on the Storm from 2013-15.
UW forward Matt Ustaski and PSU forward James Robinson were teammates on the Langley Rivermen in the BCHL from 2012-14.
Badgers' forwards Seamus Malone and Jason Ford played alongside Penn State's Nate Sucese for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL from 2012-14.
LAST MEETINGS
Penn State 2, Wisconsin 1 (2OT)
March 18, 2017
Wisconsin outshot Penn State, 53-35, in a game that lasted 86 minutes, 43 seconds and into double overtime, but fell 2-1 to the Nittany Lions in the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game.
After Liam Folkes gave Penn State the lead at 15:37 of the first period, it took UW about 35 minutes to tie the game when Matt Ustaski tallied a third-period power-play goal at 11:45.Â
The Badgers pushed hard in the third period and in the overtimes to take the lead, holding 18-5, 12-8 and 7-5 shot advantages in the third period and the first and second overtimes, respectively.
However, Folkes struck again, converting a breakaway chance at 6:43 of the second overtime to give Penn State the win.
The Badgers went 1-for-3 on the power play and 0-for-1 on the penalty kill.
Jack Berry stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced in the game.
BEHIND THE BENCH
WISCONSINÂ BADGERS
Head Coach: Tony Granato
Record at WIS: 30-24-3 (2nd Year)
Overall: 30-24-3 (2nd Year)
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Head Coach: Guy Gadowsky
Record at PSU:Â 96-87-14Â (5th Year)
Overall: 269-285-51Â (18th Year)
BY THE NUMBERS
10 -Â Wisconsin, which is ranked No. 19 in USCHO.com's Pairwise Rankings, plays 10 of its final 14 regular-season games against teams currently in the top 12 in those rankings.
10 -Â With two goals and 10 points in 13 games against Penn State, senior Cameron Hughes leads the current Badgers in career scoring against the Nittany Lions.
10 -Â The Badgers have 10 victories and are 10-9-2, overall, and 6-4-1 in non-conference games at the semester break. Last season, UW sat at 8-7-1 at the semester break, and 7-6-1 in non-conference action.Â
KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER
The Badgers open 2018 in a five-team mash-up of teams in places 2 through 6 of the Big Ten standings. Notre Dame is a perfect 10-0-0 in league play and owns 30 points, while second-place Ohio State (5-4-1 - 16 points) sits in second place, leading a group of five teams — Penn State (15 points), Minnesota (14), Wisconsin (13) and Michigan (12) — who are within four points of each other. Minnesota has played 12 Big Ten games while the rest of the league has played 10 games each.
The top four teams in the Big Ten standings after the regular season ends are guaranteed to play host to at least one round of the Big Ten playoffs.
Wisconsin has won just two of its last 14 games against Penn State.
Junior defenseman Peter Tischke scored his first goal of the season and his fourth in 83 career games in UW's last game against Notre Dame on Dec. 9. Tischke boasts one goal and eight points in 21 games this season. That is one point shy of his career high of nine points set last season in 35 games.
Tischke went 27 games played between goals, last tallying on Feb. 18, 2017 against Michigan.
The Badgers may play the Penn State series without 2017 Big Ten Rookie of the Year Trent Frederic, who is in Buffalo, New York, playing for Team USA at the World Junior Championship. Frederic shares the UW team lead with eight goals and ranks second on the squad with 16 points.
Wisconsin is 7-2-0 this season when outscoring its opponents in the third period of games, while it is 1-7-2 when losing the third period. UW lost the third periods in its most recent series against Notre Dame, 3-0, both nights.
The Badgers have outscored opponents 70-61 this season, including 24-14 in the first period and 26-21 in the second period. UW is down 25-20 in third periods. UW has been edged 1-0 in overtimes.
The Badgers have scored first in 14 of 21 games this season, including the first game against Notre Dame, and sit 8-5-1 in those contests.
Sophomore goaltender Jack Berry has stopped 102 of the last 109 shots he's faced for a .936 save percentage.
Berry is 3-2-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and one shutout this season.
FIRST HALF REVIEW
The Badgers are 10-9-2 and 6-4-1 in non-conference games at the semester break. Last season, UW sat at 8-7-1 at the semester break, and 7-6-1 in non-conference action.Â
The Badgers collected a positive result on all but the last weekend of the 2017 part of this year's schedule, highlighted by a 2-0-0 road trip to New England that included victories at Boston College and Merrimack on Oct. 13-14.Â
UW gained at least a split in every weekend but two, falling and tying against North Dakota on Nov. 3-4 and getting swept on Dec. 8-9 by Notre Dame. Both those series took place at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers opened the 2017–18 campaign with a 3-2 victory over Michigan Tech in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at the Kohl Center on Oct. 1.Â
Wisconsin went 4-2-0 on the road the first half of the season and is 13-6-0 in road games over the last two seasons.
The Badgers were ranked as high as No. 5 in both polls on Oct. 23.
Senior forward Ryan Wagner leads the Badgers with 19 points on eight goals and 10 assists. He set his career high of 10 goals during the 2015–16 season, and recorded 28 points for his career-high last season.
Wagner is averaging .905 points per game through 21 games, which puts him on pace to finish the 35-game regular season with 32 points.
Freshman defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk leads UW rookies with 15 points, and all Badgers with 14 assists and 10 power-play points. His 15 points rank third in the Big Ten among defensemen and freshmen.
A handful of Badgers are on pace to set career highs in points or goals, including Wagner, Peter Tischke, Matthew Freytag, and Will Johnson, as well as Jason Ford, who already matched his career high with eight points.
Junior defenseman Peter Tischke hit the break tied for the top spot in the country in blocks with 50. His 2.38 blocks per game mark ranked ninth.
Senior forward Matt Ustaski ranked 13th in the country in faceoff percentage at .597. He is 37-25 on draws in 13 games played.
Wisconsin boasts eight skaters with between five and eight goals on the season. Sophomore forward Trent Frederic, senior forward Ryan Wagner and freshman Tarek Baker lead the team, while junior forward Seamus Malone and senior forward Cameron Hughes have seven goals, and junior forwards Will Johnson and Matthew Freytag and freshman Linus Weissbach own five goals.Â
Wisconsin's eight skaters with at least five goals are the most among Big Ten schools. The next closest is Penn State with seven skaters, while Minnesota and Notre Dame both have five players with at least five goals.
SPECIAL TEAMS
UW is 11th nationally with its 23.8 percent power play (19-for-80), which is tops in the Big Ten.Â
This week's opponent, Penn State, ranks 12th in the country with an 84.8 percent penalty kill (56-for-66).
Wisconsin's penalty kill is 66-for-80 (.825) on the season, ranking fifth in the Big Ten and 25th nationally. UW was a 9-for-10 against Notre Dame.
Penn State's power play is 17th in the country at 21.5 percent (17-for-79).
Wisconsin was +15 on special teams last season, but -9 at even strength. UW is +6 at even strength this year, and +3 on special teams.
WORLD JUNIORS
Sophomore forward Trent Frederic was named to the U.S. National Junior Team. This year's event takes place Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Buffalo, New York.
Frederic is the 54th Badger all-time to play in the tournament since its official start in 1978.
Of Team USA four all-time gold medals, Badgers served as captain for three (Luke Kunin - 2017; Jake McCabe - 2013; Derek Stepan - 2010). The first Team USA gold in the tournament was led by then-UW head coach Mike Eaves (2004).
WHERE THEY RANK
A handful of Badgers rank among the top players in the Big Ten in various categories.
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OF PENALTY SHOTS
Freshman forward Tarek Baker's successful penalty shot against Ohio State on Oct. 6 marked the fourth penalty shot goal in the last five seasons for the Badgers. Freshman forward Sean Dhooghe made it five in five seasons with his penalty-shot goal on Nov. 4 against North Dakota. Prior to the last five years, UW went 16 seasons without a successful penalty shot.Â
Both Baker's and Sean Dhooghe's penalty shot goals marked their first career goals as a Badger. That makes them the first UW skaters since at least the 1989–90 season to score their first goal on a penalty shot.
DOUBLE DHOOGHE
When Sean and Jason Dhooghe each scored their first career goals in the same game on Nov. 4 against North Dakota, they became the first brothers in UW history to accomplish the feat. They also became the sixth brother combination to score goals in the same game, including most recently current UW associate head coach Mark Strobel, and his twin brother, Mike, who both scored on Nov. 19, 1993 against Colorado College. They were the third Badger twin brothers to both score in the same game.
First OccurrenceÂ
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HEY, HAYTON
Goaltender Kyle Hayton joins the Badgers as a graduate transfer from St. Lawrence University, where he was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Year and a second-team All-American in 2016-17.Â
Hayton, a native of Denver, was one of 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award. He started 35 of the Saints' 37 contests while posting a .929 save percentage and five shutouts.
Hayton finished his time at SLU as the leader in career wins, appearances, saves, shutouts and goals-against average in just three seasons of play.
Had Hayton played his first three years at Wisconsin, he would currently rank in the top-five on the all-time UW list for career save percentage (.934, first), shutouts (13, second), wins (58, fourth) and saves (3,206, fifth).
Hayton entered the season with numbers that rank among the best in the country among the nation's goaltenders. His 3,079 saves were No. 1, as was his .934 save percentage. He ranked second with 54 victories in goal, while his 13 shutouts also ranked second.Â
B1G ADDITION
Notre Dame is now the seventh member of the Big Ten for hockey after spending the last four seasons as a member of Hockey East. The Fighting Irish were CCHA members prior to that.
UND reached the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four semifinals, before eventual national champion Denver eliminated the Fighting Irish.
UND visits the Kohl Center for a Dec. 8-9 series, while UW visits South Bend, Indiana, for a series on Jan. 19-20.
The Big Ten moves to a three-week playoff with best-of-three series on campus sites, then a semifinal game and championship game at campus sites of the higher seed. The top seed will get a first-round bye.
olympic opportunity
OLYMPICS UPDATES
Badgers' head coach Tony Granato was named head coach of the United State's men's hockey team competing in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
As a player, Granato represented Team USA in the 1988 Winter Games. He also served as an assistant coach for the Americans at the 2014 Olympics.
Joining Granato on the bench as an assistant coach will be former UW defenseman Chris Chelios, as well as general manager for Team USA Jim Johannson, who played with Granato at Wisconsin and on the 1988 Olympic team.
OLYMPIC PRECURSOR?
There has been at least one Wisconsin men's hockey player competing at every Olympics dating back to 1976. In all but 1994, there have been at least two Badgers in each Olympics.
UW head coach Tony Granato served as Team USA's Deutschland Cup head coach. He is the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team head coach.
Rene Bourque was invited to play for Team Canada at the Karjala Cup, which ran Nov. 8-12 in Finland and Switzerland and served as an evaluation for Canada's 2018 Olympic Team.
Cody Goloubef played for Team Canada and the Spengler Cup, which ran Dec. 26-31 in Switzerland. Goloubef and Canada won the championship against Switzerland and four other squads from Russian and European leagues.
Granato joins Peter Laviolette, John Garrison, Jack Riley and Herb Brooks on a short list of coaches who have played in the Olympics for Team USA and later coached the American squad in the Games.
Granato joins Bob Johnson, who guided the Americans in 1976, as Wisconsin men's coaches who have been tabbed to coach Team USA.
100 GAMES
Six Badgers have skated in at least 100 games played with senior forward Ryan Wagner leading the way (127 GP). Also over the 100 games-played threshold are senior defenseman Jake Linhart (164), senior forward Cameron Hughes (123), senior defenseman Tim Davison (123) and senior forward Jason Ford (101). Graduate transfer goaltender Kyle Hayton has also played in 121 games.
Four others, including Seamus Malone (91), Will Johnson (91), Matt Ustaski (89) and Peter Tischke (83), are within striking distance of 100 games played.
UW boasted seven skaters last season with at least 100 games played, the most since the 2013–14 Badgers had 11 skaters over 100 career games played.
100 POINTS
A couple Wisconsin seniors have an outside chance at reaching 100 career points as Cameron Hughes has 85 career points and Ryan Wagner boasts 74 career points.Â
Should either reach the mark, they would be the first Badgers since the 2013–14 season to break the mark. That year, both Michael Mersch (120 points) and Tyler Barnes (101 points) eclipsed the mark.Â
CAPTAINS
Senior forward Cameron Hughes was named team captain after serving as an alternate captain in 2016-17.Â
The four Badgers joining Hughes as alternate captains are senior forward Ryan Wagner and senior defenseman Jake Linhart, as well as junior forward Seamus Malone and sophomore forward Trent Frederic.
The five-member leadership crew is the largest in program history, not counting the three seasons during which the Badgers have rotated and had game captains.
UW has had combinations of four captains and assistant captains on six prior occasions, including most recently during the 2012-13 season when captain John Ramage had assistant help from Ryan Little, Derek Lee and Frankie Simonelli.
Other than Hughes, who served as one of UW's two alternate captains last season, the remaining four Badgers will wear a letter on their jersey's for the first time in their UW careers.
SCORING PUNCH
In the offensively-minded Big Ten, the Badgers scored with the best of them last season, averaging 3.39 goals per game to rank No. 9 in the country. That mark ranked fourth among Big Ten schools.Â
Sophomore forward and 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Trent Frederic enters the season as UW's leading returning scorer after posting 15 goals and 33 points as a rookie.
Four Badgers scored double figures, including three who return for the squad. Frederic led the returners with 15 goals, while both Seamus Malone and Will Johnson tallied 10 times last year. UW lost leader scorer Luke Kunin to the pros after the second-team All-American tallied 22 goals and 38 points last year.
The Badgers add some punch, as well, with freshman speedster Linus Weissbach joining the team. Weissbach led the USHL's Tri-City Storm last season with 47 points on 19 goals and 28 assists.
Frosh defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk enters after playing as one of the USHL's most offensive defenseman last season. With the Bloomington Thunder, Kalynuk paced the defense and ranked seventh in the USHL among rear guards with 31 points (6 g, 25 a).
DEFENSE GET TOUGH
UW ranked 46th out of 60 teams in the nation last season, allowing an average of 3.28 goals per game, but has lowered that to 2.90 goals-against per game so far this season, which ranks 28th in the nation.
The Badgers added three NHL-drafted freshmen defensemen this year, including U.S. National Team Development product Tyler Inamoto who was picked by the Florida Panthers in the fifth round (133rd overall) in 2017. Wyatt Kalynuk went in the seventh round (196th) to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks drafted Josh Ess in the seventh round (215th).
FEELING A DRAFT
Wisconsin begins the season with nine NHL draft picks on its roster.Â
UW had four players selected in 2017, including three defensemen. That marks the first time since 2008 that three Badger defensemen were chosen by NHL teams.
Defenseman Tyler Inamoto (5th round, 133rd overall) was the highest pick for the Badgers in this year's draft, followed by defensemen Wyatt Kalynuk (196th) and Josh Ess (215th), both in the seventh round.
Forward Linus Weissbach was also selected in the seventh round, going 192nd overall.
This marks the second consecutive year that four Badgers were chosen in the NHL Draft.
CURRENT UW DRAFT PICKSÂ Â Â
| NAME | TEAM | YEAR | RD./PICK |
| Trent Frederic | Boston | 2016 | 1/29 |
| JD Greenway | Toronto | 2016 | 3/72 |
| Max Zimmer | Carolina | 2016 | 4/104 |
| Tyler Inamoto | Florida | 2017 | 5/133 |
| Cameron Hughes | Boston | 2015 | 6/165 |
| Matt Ustaski | Winnipeg | 2014 | 7/192 |
| Linus Weissbach | Buffalo | 2017 | 7/192 |
| Wyatt Kalynuk | Philadelphia | 2017 | 7/196 |
| Josh Ess | Chicago | 2017 | 7/215 |
NCAA ATTENDANCE RANKINGS
Wisconsin finished the season ranked second in the country in average attendance at 10,157.7 fans per game. North Dakota led the country at 11,504.9.Â
Wisconsin has led the country in attendance 38 times all time, including most recently in the 2011–12 season.
COACHING THEM UP
All three Wisconsin coaches are Badgers' alumni with head coach Tony Granato (1983–87), associate head coach Mark Osiecki (1987–90) and associate head coach Mark Strobel (1991–95) all having skated for UW.
Granato, who completed his degree last year during his first season as UW head coach, will face a similar challenge this season as the 2018 U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team head coach.Â
UW's director of hockey operations Shane Connelly gives UW two former Badger athletes with NCAA titles on their resume. Connelly was a member of UW's 2006 NCAA title-winning team, while Osiecki played for the Badgers' 1990 NCAA championship team. Osiecki also served as an assistant coach for the 2006 team during his first coaching stint at UW.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin plays host to Michigan State for a series at the Kohl Center on Jan. 12-13 at 7 p.m. CT both nights.
