Wisconsin traveled to Michigan last weekend for the College Hockey Showcase where it faced Michigan and Michigan State. Both were top-10 teams heading into the weekend.
The Badgers were down 3-0 in the third period when they received goals 18 seconds apart from freshman forward Podge Turnbull and junior forward Ben Street. Wisconsin, however, could not score in the final 2:30 and Michigan held on for the win.
Wisconsin headed from Ann Arbor to East Lansing where it faced Michigan State Saturday.
The Badgers played come-from-behind hockey all night, trailing 1-0, 2-1, and 4-2 before Street and sophomore forward John Mitchell each scored to even the game in the third period. Neither team scored as the Badgers and the Spartans skated to a 4-4 tie.
St. Cloud State ventured outside the WCHA last weekend as it headed to Potsdam, N.Y., to face Clarkson.
Friday, the Huskies came out firing as sophomore forward Ryan Lasch scored twice to give St. Cloud State a 2-0 lead. The Huskies did not look back as they scored two more times enroute to a 4-1 victory.
Saturday, St. Cloud State failed to hold onto leads of 1-0 and 2-1 as it dropped the series finale to the Golden Knights 3-2.
Preview
The Badgers enter the series trying to find the offensive rhythm they displayed against Robert Morris. Since WCHA play began for Wisconsin Nov. 2, the Badgers have scored an average of 2.63 goals per game, including this past weekend’s non-conference games. Before that they were scoring at a torrid pace, notching an average of 5.5 goals per game.
Freshman center Kyle Turris began the season with 12 points in the first four games, but since then he has been held to three points in the eight games that have followed. As the catalyst for the top line, his productivity reflects the team’s output.
Similar to last season, Wisconsin has needed to score first to have a good chance in its games. Besides the victory over Michigan Tech, each time Wisconsin has not scored first it has lost. The Badgers play much better when they are ahead, and need to avoid playing catch-up.
St. Cloud State lost much of what it had in last year’s run to the NCAA Tournament, including goalie Bobby Goepfert. However, it seems to have rebounded quite nicely with a 7-3-2 overall record, although the Huskies have had an easy schedule. Non-conference games to this point have included Canisius and Bemidji State.
Lasch and freshman forward Garrett Roe have established themselves as solid players, as each have scored 20 points through 12 games.
In goal, sophomore Jase Weslosky has a .940 save percentage with a 1.67 goals-against-average as he is helps St. Cloud State cope without Goepfert.
The Huskies have kept their scoring up all season, scoring in the four-goal range almost every game.
If Wisconsin can score first, it forces St. Cloud to play a different style game which limits its offensive productivity. The Huskies have played much better while ahead this season than behind. Whichever team is able to score first each night will have a huge advantage: the ability to control the tempo of the game.
