Women’s Hockey
The Wisconsin women’s hockey team (2-0) is coming off a season-opening sweep against Minnesota State where they won back-to-back 3-0 and 5-1 games.
The Badgers are set to travel to the Twin Cities to take on Minnesota (2-0) at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis starting Friday. Head coach Mark Johnson spoke to the media about his team’s performance over the weekend, pointing to goaltending in particular.
“I was very pleased with a lot of the things the team did,” Johnson said. “Alex [Rigsby] played well in the net both nights. Most nights that she’s in the net, she’ll give us an opportunity to win.”
Although the Badgers face a tough game against the Golden Gophers, Johnson said it’s one he welcomes.
“They’ve won 51 straight games, which is very impressive, especially in today’s environment,” Johnson said. “So it’ll be a challenge, but I like it early in the season, and it’ll be an opportunity to see how we as a team respond to this type of environment.”
The Badgers will look to end Minnesota’s streak while remaining undefeated themselves beginning Friday night at 6:00 p.m.
Football
With the bye week behind them the Badgers (1-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) will look to come out reenergized and refocused as they welcome Northwestern (0-1, 4-1) to Camp Randall this Saturday for their homecoming game.
Head coach Gary Andersen discussed the upcoming challenges against the Wildcats.
“Northwestern is a very talented team,” Andersen said. “They play mature, they play hard and they play fast. They expect to win. It’s very obvious in the way they carry themselves.”
Despite a tough loss to Ohio State two weeks ago, Andersen said the result has not affected the team negatively. Rather, they take each game in stride and move on to the next one.
“Do I think it’s something they have in the back of their mind and not in a negative way, but in a way of ‘Hey, if we’re going to be a great team, we’ve got to win these close games?’ Yeah. These kids will plow right through it and they’ll work hard all season regardless of the wins or losses.”
Junior wide receiver Kenzel Doe and redshirt junior offensive lineman Dallas Lewallen will both be back in action this week after sustaining injuries against the Buckeyes.
Kickoff against Northwestern is slated for 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Volleyball
After falling to Nebraska 3-2 this past weekend, the Wisconsin volleyball team (3-2 Big Ten, 14-2 overall) looks to get back in the win column as they head out on the road to take on Ohio State and Penn State, beginning Friday.
“We’ve got to find a way to get the ball to Ellen Chapman a lot more than we did,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said Monday. “It’s on the coaching staff to find ways to get her involved a little bit more.”
Sheffield said the Badgers fought their absolute hardest against Nebraska, which is something he feels they can carry over to this weekend.
“This team, they don’t back down,” Sheffield said. “It was a loud environment, and I thought our kids handled it really well. They stayed focused. We fought, we’ve just got to get better.”
Game one against Ohio State gets underway Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Ohio.
Men’s Hockey
The Wisconsin men’s hockey team opens its inaugural Big Ten season Friday and looks to build upon a strong finish last year as it hosts Northern Michigan in a two-game series at the Kohl Center.
Head coach Mike Eaves met with media Monday to talk about the home opener, the lessons his team learned from last season and what he believes will make the Badgers successful this year.
“I firmly believe that what we went through last year, we talk about having a team maturity, and going through those things sets that up for us,” Eaves said.
“As we move forward this year because of our team maturity we should be able to handle a bad call, a bad injury, bad travel. We know we can live through it if we make the right choices.”
When asked about the feeling of being a part of the inaugural Big Ten season, Eaves compared it to being a freshman in college or a rookie in the NHL.
“It’s all new,” Eaves said. “And when it’s all new, it’s exciting.”
The first Big Ten hockey season for Wisconsin kicks off Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
