The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team (10-17-1, 5-14-1-1 Big Ten) faces the Penn State Nittany Lions (18-9-3, 10-7-3) in their final Big Ten series at home this season.
With six total games left, including this series, the Badgers look to spoil the Lion’s first-place hopes by knocking them off the top of the standings. Sitting at 10 points behind Michigan, if the Badgers have any thoughts of finishing in a place other than last, they must win all six of their remaining games.
After losing two straight games to Minnesota, the Badgers looked to win against the Michigan Wolverines, who sit just one place in front of them in the Big Ten standings. After failing to come away with that win, the Badgers are officially in desperation mode for the rest of the season, looking to end their second streak of three or more consecutive losses on the season.
Cole Caufield looks to continue his tear on the Big Ten — leading the conference with 22 points in 21 games. If he continues this run, Caufield could potentially finish as the first UW men’s hockey player to win the scoring title for the Big Ten since the 1977-1978 season, when Mark Johnson and Mike Eaves shared the crown.
With 18 goals on the season, Caufield is having the ninth highest goal-scoring year for a player in UW history — 18 goals behind the leader, Mark Johnson, who scored 36 goals in the 1976-1977 season.
Men’s Hockey: Badgers get swept by Michigan, extend losing streak to five games
After missing his fourth and fifth straight games, freshman center Alex Turcotte is still questionable to play in this weekend’s series, as he battles a lower-body injury.
If the Badgers have any hope of making a playoff run, they would need to make a deep push into the Big Ten Tournament, which starts in a few weeks. To do this, they must gain some momentum now to hit their stride and pick up some much needed points.
In what should be a series of action-packed games, expect the Badgers to try and ride the crowd’s energy at the Kohl Center to turn their season around.
Both games will be played at the Kohl Center at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday night. Both will be broadcast live on WIBA radio and Saturday night’s game will be shown on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
