The Wisconsin men's hockey team begins its season tonight as the Badgers take on the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Lefty McFadden Invite, held at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio.
The Badgers are coming off of a season in which they started out as the No. 1 team in the nation, but fell out of the top 25 as the season went on due to a young team and inconsistent play.
The squad this season does not appear to be much older, as 18 of the 27 players are sophomores or younger. With an incoming freshmen class of nine that make up the No. 1 ranked class in the country, the Badgers will turn to young, fresh talent this season.
However, the young team does not seem to bother anyone.
[Chemistry] looks good so far, we have a lot of team builders,"" junior forward and assistant captain Ben Street said. ""We have been together for a long time now, some guys are trickling in and out but the core of us have been here all summer.""
Chemistry will be key as Wisconsin takes on Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are returning a majority of their team, including their top five point scorers. Junior forward Erik Condra and sophomore right wing Ryan Thang tallied over 40 points last season, and it will be imperative that the Badger defensemen keep track of where they are on the ice. Even with such a formidable offense, the Badgers feel confident in their ability to control Notre Dame.
""With the way the [defensive] pairs are right now, we have a younger guy paired with an older guy,"" senior defenseman and captain Davis Drewiske said. ""Those [young] guys are willing to learn and ask questions, and hopefully it'll be a good mix.""
Four of the nine UW freshmen play defensemen, making up half of that position on the team. With this being said, the Badgers feel comfortable with the players they have.
""I feel fine,"" junior goaltender Shane Connelly said. ""Everyone back there is skilled. We have a good mix of veterans and rookies who are going to help each other out back there.""
As for the offense, Wisconsin lost its top two point scorers to graduation and will rely on Street, senior forward Matthew Fox and possibly freshman forward Kyle Turris. Turris was the third overall pick in this summer's NHL Entry Draft and is expected to contribute immediately to the Badgers.
While expectations are high, Turris doesn't feel the pressure.
""I think we all know the expectations that people put on us,"" Turris said. ""But we don't put too much pressure on it. It's just a stat, we don't look at it too seriously.""
The puck drops in Dayton at 4 p.m. Friday night, and Wisconsin will take on either Ohio State or Mercyhurst Saturday, depending on the outcome of Friday's games.
