Badgers to Showcase their men's hockey team

17th annual event visits Michigan State, Michigan

Freshman Justin Schultz gets his first taste of the College Hockey Showcase

Nov. 27, 2009

EAST LANSING, Mich. – When the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (7-4-1, 5-4-1 WCHA) drops the puck on the 17th annual College Hockey Showcase tonight at Munn Ice Arena against Michigan State (9-3-2, 6-2-2 CCHA), they will look continue a remarkable turnaround at the event.

The Badgers sit 10-20-2 through the first 16 years of the Showdown, but are 8-3-1 since the start of the 2003-04 season. As tough a first 10 years the Badgers had at the event, they’ve been nearly successful ever since.

The UW opens tonight against Michigan State. Wisconsin is 3-0-1 against the Spartans over the last four seasons, and own a 3-2-1 edge in the games at Munn in the event history. The first four years of the Showcase were held at neutral sites.

Saturday, the Badgers visit Michigan (5-7-0, 3-5-0 CCHA) at Yost Arena, where they are 2-4-0 in Showcase games. However, Wisconsin is 4-2-0 during the last six years of the Showcase against Michigan, overall, including 2-1-0 at Yost.

Both Munn Ice Arena and Yost Arena hold NHL-sized ice sheets so the Badgers will skate on 200-foot by 85-foot ice for the first time this season. All of UW’s previous games this season have been on the 200-foot by 97-foot Kohl Center ice, or on the 200-foot by 100-foot ice sheets in Mankato and St. Cloud, Minn.

To catch the action on Friday, watch a video stream at Bigtennetwork.com for $2.99. You can listen on the Wisconsin Radio Network, including WIBA-AM 1310 in the Madison area. The audio will also be streamed live at UWBadgers.com for a fee. You can follow along with live stats at UWBadgers.com. A live rinkside blog will also be available.

Coverage for Saturday’s game at Michigan is similar, except there is no web stream available.