After an overtime loss in an exhibition game to Lakehead, the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0-0) in their season-opening series.
This starts an extremely tough opening schedule for the Badgers, as they play six games in a row against ranked opponents, four of which are on the road. Ohio State has high expectations this year as they return 22 players from last season’s roster, including seven of their top ten scorers from a season ago.
Though the Badgers outshot Lakehead in their exhibition game and appeared to be the better team throughout, they couldn’t capitalize on their chances to score. The Badgers went 0-5 on the power play, and simple mistakes cost the team a victory. The most prominent mistake came from goalkeeper Jared Moe in the first period, who gifted Lakehead a goal by giving the puck away in front of the net.
Some players did stand out for Wisconsin in the exhibition game. Junior Carson Bantle played especially well this past weekend. The fifth round pick of the Coyotes got himself a key goal, all while leading the team in goal differential (+2).
It was also a welcome sight to see freshman Cruz Lucius get a goal of his own to kick off his season. Lucius, who’s a fourth round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, has high expectations in his first season in Madison after flipping his commitment from Minnesota.
On the other hand, junior Mathieu De St. Phalle was surprisingly quiet in the exhibition game and will need to play a larger part in order to beat the Buckeyes.
Ohio State won both of their season opening games against Mercyhurst. Junior Travis Treloar was great in this series, getting a goal and three assists over the two games. Treloar, who led the Buckeyes in scoring as a freshman two years ago, is going to be a player who, Wisconsin coach, Tony Granato and his team have to contain if the Badgers want a chance to win.
Ohio State goalkeeper Jakub Dobes, who is on the preseason All-Big Ten second team, was phenomenal in net. He stopped 43 of 46 shots on the weekend and is a great safety valve for Ohio State.
Women’s Soccer: Badgers take down Gophers with two late goals
The most prominent worry for Wisconsin heading in to this weekend has to be the play on special teams. The Badgers were 1-3 on the penalty kill against Lakehead, while Ohio State was 2-9 on the power play. Similarly, Ohio State was a perfect 10-10 on the penalty kill, while Wisconsin did not get a power play goal against Lakehead.
It feels like Moe will have to stand on his head this series. Last season, Moe posted a 2.97 goals against average and a 91.7% save percentage. The Badgers defense is improving this season, but the Buckeyes throw a lot of pucks on net, and their goalie Dobes is a tough puzzle to crack.
Women’s Hockey: Wisconsin women’s hockey poised for another outstanding year
Wisconsin was picked to finish above Ohio State on the preseason Big Ten coaches poll, but a lot can happen in a season. The Big Ten is loaded with talent for the 2022-2023 campaign, and this game is going be a tone-setter for Wisconsin. If they can find a way to just get a split at Ohio State, the team should walk away with some added confidence.
