While most students will pack up their dirty laundry and head home for the upcoming winter break for about a month, the No. 14 Wisconsin men's hockey team will play a total of eight games.
The Badgers (7-7-2 overall) will have a quick break to meet with family and friends, before heading back to Madison to skate in the Badger Hockey Showdown against Colgate.
UW is led by freshman forward Kyle Turris, who has 19 points and a team high 12 assists. He is tied for the lead in goals with seven along with junior forward Ben Street, who has scored 16 points.
Junior goaltender Shane Connelly has been shaky as of late, and has dropped to under .500 on the season with a 6-7-1 record. Connelly is allowing 2.69 goals per game, a sorry sight for Badger fans.
The Raiders (7-7-2) have played against some tough competition this year, including a series against then-No. 9 Michigan State, losing the series 3-6 and 1-2. They have also played Robert Morris, defeating the Colonials 4-3 and 5-0.
Colgate is led by senior forwards Tyler Burton and Jesse Winchester, who each have accumulated 16 points. However, freshman forward Brian Day seems to be the main goal scorer, with eight of his 11 points coming from goals.
Minding the goal for the Raiders is senior goaltender Mark Dekanich, who enters the Showdown with a .912 save percentage and a 6-5-2 record.
Wisconsin will then take on either Bowling Green or Northeastern.
After the Badger Hockey Showdown, UW will take on No. 3 Colorado College Jan. 4 and 5 at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin will try to avenge its early sweep this season at the hands of the Tigers (10-4-0).
Junior center Chad Rau leads the team in points with 17, and also goals with nine. Freshman goaltender Richard Bachman gets a majority of the playing time, and has a 9-2 record.
After battling the Tigers, the Badgers will head to Magness Arena in Denver, Col., to take on the No. 4 Denver Pioneers.
The Pioneers (12-4-0) are led by sophomore forward Brock Trotter, who has 16 points on the season. Trotter, along with fellow sophomore forward Rhett Rakhshani, are averaging one point per game for Denver.
Senior goalie Peter Mannino has started all 16 games for Denver, and has a stellar .934 save percentage.
Playing the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association on back-to-back weekends will be a tough task for Wisconsin.
The following weekend, UW will head up to Alaska-Anchorage to take on the Seawolves.
The Seawolves (5-5-4) are second to last in the WCHA, but as Minnesota State proved last weekend, any team can win in any given weekend series.
Led by sophomore forward Kevin Clark with 13 points, Alaska-Anchorage could have a tough time against Badger defensemen, especially when looking at its 14 percent success on the power play.
With so many games over the winter break, the Badgers will definitely be busy. However, with a little luck against Colorado College and Denver, and a strong showing against Alaska-Anchorage and in the Badger Hockey Showdown, the Wisconsin men's hockey team could set themselves up to make a push in the second half of the WCHA season.
