[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The baby Badgers will be put to the test by "grizzly old man strength" in their 2007-08 Kohl Center debut.

"We’re excited to show the fans what kind of hockey we have this year," UW goaltender Shane Connelly said.

Wisconsin (1-1-0) will play Robert Morris (2-0-0) in what could just as soon be a father-son game. Of the 27 players on No. 13 UW’s roster, 18 are freshmen or sophomores. The Colonials, in the meantime, have 14 seniors on its team — all of whom are older than the Badgers’ oldest player. There’s no doubt that the experience discrepancy is substantial, and it could come into play.

"They’re a veteran team," Connelly said. "They have a deep senior class, and their experience is going to test our young guys’ maturity."

"This is a big time game for us. [We have] freshmen, and they’ll be excited and they have some ability, but if you’re going to win you’ve got to play against that (experience)," UW head coach Mike Eaves added.

But don’t count out the adolescent Badgers. According to Connelly, they have the wherewithal and talent to cancel out the Colonials’ experience.

"It’ll be a little bit different playing against some of these guys who are five-to-seven years older than our freshmen, but I think our talent level will make up for that," Connelly said. "Plus, everyone’s been around the game, and they’ve played against older guys, so it’s really nothing new."

Last weekend, Robert Morris took then-No. 8 Boston University by surprise, defeating the Terriers 2-1 en route to winning the Nye Frontier Classic. The result caught the attention of the Badgers players and coaches.

"They’re on our radar," Connelly said. "We know we have to really focus because they’re going to come in here and try to flush out of our own building, and we’ve got to be prepared for a battle."

One of Robert Morris’ younger players — who, at 21, is old by Wisconsin’s standards –Jason Towsley scored two goals and added two assists last weekend. But he wasn’t the only one to get his name in the box score. Like the Badgers, the Colonials spread the wealth around last weekend; six different players scored a goal and 12 recorded a point.

"The message is loud and clear that they give themselves a chance to be successful by playing hard," Eaves said. "And the longer you hang around, the better your chances are of winning."

Wisconsin too is coming off of an impressive weekend. It shut down national power Notre Dame 4-1 and lost in an offensive showcase 5-3 to Ohio State. In the process of just two games, the Badgers exhibited a knack for scoring and an up-and-down frenzied pace that was missing from last year’s team. Freshman standout Kyle Turris paved the way, notching a goal in his Wisconsin debut and adding a goal and two assists in the tournament final Saturday.

"It’s exciting to watch," Connelly said. "We didn’t really know what to expect coming into last Friday’s game and right from the start, we were going up and down the ice really playing hard.

"It’s nice to know that we have an offense if we get down in a 2-0 hole like we did Saturday night twice and get back into the game."

One concern with the run-and-gun style the rookie Badgers play is at times they don’t get back to defend.

"We’re still committed to defense and with game experience, it will come and we won’t have every guy down low," Connelly said.

Still, Connelly wants the players in front of him to be aggressive.

"If we need to take a chance, something happens, I’ll be there to back them up — to give them the free range to go in there and try to make something happen," Connelly said.

While Connelly will be Wisconsin’s starter for the long haul this season, freshman Scott Gudmandson is going to get the nod Friday, according to Eaves.

The Sherwood Park, Alberta, native has been on an accelerated learning curve since the start of fall practice and has shown Eaves enough to move into the backup goalie position behind Connelly.