The 39th season of University of Wisconsin hockey will officially commence tonight when the Badgers take the ice for a two-game series with the Warriors of Wayne State.

Not known by most hockey fans as the perennial powerhouse of Division I hockey, the Warriors bring a talented, well-coached group of athletes to the Kohl Center with hopes of surprising the eager Wisconsin fans.

Wayne State, a member of the College Hockey America conference, is the defending league playoff champion and returns its entire roster to this year’s team. Preseason polls have predicted the Warriors to win the CHA this season, and UW head coach Jeff Sauer realizes this series cannot be overlooked.

“They’re an emerging program with a coach who knows the game,” Sauer said of the Warriors. They didn’t lose any players from last year’s team, so we know they’re experienced.”

Wayne State’s head coach, Bill Wilkinson, entering his 19th season as a college coach (his second at Wayne State) has posted a career record of 343-331-58.

The Warriors are led by the offense of junior forward Jason Durbin and the goaltending of junior David Guerrera, both of whom were selected to the preseason all-CHA team.

This is the first ever meeting between the two teams and the first time the Badgers have played a member of the CHA since 1989.

The Badgers, who were voted to finish sixth in the preseason WCHA polls, hope to begin the season in the same fashion as last year, when they opened with a seven-game winning streak.

Led by captains Andy Wheeler, Kent Davyduke and Matt Doman, UW hopes to utilize the experience of the senior forwards to get on the board early and take some of the pressure off the inexperienced and youthful defense.

Junior goaltender Scott Kabatoff will get the start in net tonight, just his second career start as a Badger.

The puck drops tonight at 7:05 p.m. at the Kohl Center.